Assistance with Daily Life Tasks in a Group or Shared Living Arrangement
Short Term Accommodation and respite in Adelaide
A break for you. A breather for the people who love you.
Short Term Accommodation (STA), now also called short term respite, is National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding for time apart from your usual care arrangements, so the people who support you can take a break. It's usually funded for up to 28 days a year. Complete Choice provides it across Adelaide.
It's usually funded in stays of up to 14 days at a time.
It works two ways. For you, it's a change of scene and different faces. For the family or carer who supports you every day, it's a real break — and that break is part of what keeps the whole arrangement going. Booking respite isn't giving up on caring for someone. It's how you keep doing it.
What availability is there?
Availability for short stays isn’t published online, because it changes as bookings come in. To check dates or hold one, call our office and we’ll tell you honestly what’s open. It helps to know roughly when you’d like to stay, for how long, and whether short term respite is already in your NDIS plan.
What does a stay involve?
A stay involves settling in on arrival, support with your usual routine each day, and activities you choose rather than a fixed program. Your personal care, medication and mobility support continue at the level your plan funds. How meals work, and any cost, is agreed before you book, and ending a stay early is always an option.
Arriving. You’re shown around, you settle in, and staff go through what matters — your routine, what you eat, what helps when you’re unsettled. Nothing about a first stay should be a surprise.
A day. Support with the morning routine, then activities you’ve chosen rather than a fixed program. Quiet time is a legitimate choice; nobody gets pushed into a group.
Support. Personal care, medication and mobility support continue exactly as they do at home, at the level your plan funds.
Your own support worker. You can bring your own support worker in certain conditions. Tell us when you book, and we’ll tell you whether it works for your stay.
Food. NDIS funding covers your supports and accommodation, not everyday costs like food — so we’ll tell you how meals work for your stay, and any cost, before you book. Tell us about allergies, texture-modified diets and preferences before you arrive and we plan around them.
If it isn’t going well. New place, new people — that’s a lot, and sometimes a stay doesn’t work. We call the person you’ve nominated early, not late, and work out what to change. Ending a stay early is always an option and never a problem.
How do you book?
Call our office or send an enquiry, as early as you can. You need short term respite funding in your NDIS plan, under Core Supports, and we’ll ask about your support needs, medications, health, diet, communication and emergency contacts. Cancellation terms follow the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and are set out in your service agreement before you book.
How far ahead: ask as early as you can. It costs nothing, and we’ll tell you honestly what’s open.
What you need: STA funding in your plan, under Core Supports. Not sure if you have it? We’ll look at your plan with you.
What we’ll ask: support needs, medications, health information, dietary needs, communication preferences, and emergency contacts.
Cancellations: our terms follow the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and are set out in your service agreement before you book. If you cancel at short notice, a cancellation charge may apply — we’ll explain exactly when before you confirm.
How does it start?
It starts with a phone call to our office. You tell us what you need, or what you're not sure about. Then we look at your plan and funding, meet you, and agree in writing what your support looks like. Support begins after that, with review dates built in so it keeps fitting your life.
Call us.
08 7009 4462. Tell us what you need — or what you're not sure about. Working that out is a normal first conversation.
Plan it together.
We look at your plan and your funding, meet you, and agree what support looks like — in writing, before anything starts.
Support begins.
With review dates built in, so it keeps fitting as your life changes.
Questions people ask
What is Short Term Accommodation?
Short Term Accommodation (STA), now also called short term respite, is NDIS funding that gives you time apart from your usual care arrangements, so the people who support you can take a short break. It pays for your supports during the stay and standard accommodation, not food. It's usually funded for up to 28 days a year.
Is STA the same as respite?
Yes. In October 2025 the NDIS renamed short term accommodation "short term respite". It's the same support — time apart from your usual care arrangements so the people who care for you can take a break. NDIS pricing still calls it Short Term Accommodation.
Does the NDIS pay for respite?
Yes, if it's in your plan. The NDIS funds short term respite, also called Short Term Accommodation (STA), from your Core Supports budget, under Assistance with Daily Life. It's usually funded for up to 28 days a year. If you think you need it and it isn't in your plan, talk to your my NDIS contact about including it.
Who can get short term respite?
You may be able to get short term respite funding if you live with the family, friends or carers who support you, or get daily drop-in support, and they give you more than six hours of disability-related support a day. Children and young people under 18 can get it in some situations. Your my NDIS contact decides what goes in your plan.
How many days of short term respite does the NDIS fund?
Usually up to 28 days a year. You can use it flexibly, for example a block of up to 14 days at a time, or one weekend a month. The funding has to last for the whole length of your plan, so if you use it faster than planned, it can run out before your plan ends.
What does NDIS respite include?
NDIS respite includes support with everyday activities during your stay, like showering, cooking and toileting, and standard accommodation. It doesn't include food or meals, holiday packages, airfares, or entertainment such as theme parks and cinema. Ask us how meals work for your stay, and what they cost, before you book.
How far ahead should I book?
As early as you can. Asking costs nothing, and we'll tell you honestly which dates are open rather than guess. You need short term respite funding in your NDIS plan, under Core Supports. Not sure if you have it? We'll look at your plan with you before you book anything.
What if my needs are complex?
We're registered for High Intensity Daily Personal Activities, so we can support complex needs during a short stay — personal care, medication support, and nursing input where it's funded. Tell us the detail up front and we'll confirm honestly whether we can staff it safely.
Guides on this topic
- Short term respite in 2026: who can get it, how many days, and what it covers
Short term respite, once called Short Term Accommodation, is NDIS funding for a break from usual care. Who can get it, the usual 28 days, and what it covers.
Talk to someone who can actually answer.
Call 08 7009 4462 and you'll reach a person who knows what's available today — not a call centre reading a screen.
08 7009 4462Mobile 0424 000 751