The short answer
- What it is: short-term accommodation (STA) gives you time apart from the family, friends or carers who usually support you.
- How long: the NDIA generally funds up to 14 days at a time and up to 28 days a year.
- Who pays: it's flexible funding in your Core budget, so it has to last the whole plan.
- What's covered: standard accommodation and your support during the stay, but not food, holiday packages or activity tickets.
What STA is, and the name change
Short-term accommodation is an NDIS support that gives you a break from your usual care arrangements, and gives the people who usually support you a break too. It can be a stay in a hotel, motel, short-stay rental, cabin, cottage or respite house, with your support included.
The NDIA renamed it "short term respite" in October 2025, then changed the name back to "short-term accommodation" from July 2026 after community feedback. If your plan or provider uses either name, it's the same support.
Who can get STA
The NDIS guideline says STA is for participants who live with, or get daily drop-in support from, their main informal supports (usually family or carers), and who get more than 6 hours a day of disability-related support from them over the long term.
The NDIA also needs at least one more reason, such as high intensity supports or a carer whose own wellbeing is at risk.
STA usually isn't funded if you live alone without drop-in support, already have more than 18 hours a day of paid support, or live in Supported Independent Living (SIL) or individualised living options (ILO). In those cases, other supports in your plan usually meet the need.
How many days you can have
The NDIA generally funds up to 28 days of STA a year, for up to 14 days at a time. A stay can be as short as one night. More than 28 days is only funded in exceptional circumstances.
For children, STA is funded only in exceptional situations; if a child is at risk of having to leave the family home, the NDIA may fund more than 28 days, but generally no more than 60 days a year.
What's covered and what isn't
Covered: standard accommodation for each overnight stay, the support you need during the stay (such as help with showering, dressing and cooking), and, if you need support overnight, accommodation for your support worker.
Not covered: food and meals, cruises, holiday packages and airfares, activity tickets and entry fees (the support to take part can be funded, but not the ticket), travel and accommodation for family members, and babysitting. You only pay for the supports you actually use.
Respite at home instead
A break doesn't have to mean going away. The NDIA usually looks at other supports first, and your flexible Core funding can pay for a support worker to come to your home so the people who usually help you can rest.
STA can also happen in your own home: then the NDIS funds the support, not accommodation. Many families mix both: respite at home for regular breaks, and a short stay for a longer one.
What STA costs in 2026-27
These are the maximum prices in the NDIS pricing schedule 2026-27, effective from 24 September 2026, at the national price that applies across Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands and the Gold Coast. Accommodation and support are claimed as separate items.
| What | Item | Maximum price |
|---|---|---|
| Participant accommodation, per day | 01_250 | $162.85 |
| Support worker accommodation, per day (if you need overnight support) | 01_251 | $162.85 |
| Support, weekday daytime, per hour | 01_200 | $73.58 |
| Support, weekday evening, per hour | 01_201 | $81.07 |
| Support, weekday night, per hour | 01_205 | $82.57 |
| Support, Saturday, per hour | 01_202 | $103.54 |
| Support, Sunday, per hour | 01_203 | $133.50 |
| Support, public holiday, per hour | 01_204 | $163.46 |
| Sleepover, each | 01_206 | $311.79 |
The full number on an invoice adds the registration group, for example 01_250_0115_1_1. Higher prices apply for high intensity support. The old all-in-one STA price no longer exists. We charge within these maximum prices, with no hidden fees.
Psych Connect NDIS Support delivers standard supports and is not registered for high intensity daily personal activities.
Booked a stay and need to change it? Read about cancelling a short stay at short notice.
What does a weekend stay cost? The 2026-27 benchmark
The Psych Connect NDIS Respite (STA) 2026-27 Stay Benchmark puts a 48-hour weekend stay, Friday 6 pm to Sunday 6 pm with two sleepovers, at up to $4,532.20 at 1:1, $2,428.95 at 1:2 and $1,727.87 at 1:3 per participant, using the NDIS price limits for 2026-27.
| Ratio | Support share | Accommodation (2 days) | Stay total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | $4,206.50 | $325.70 | $4,532.20 |
| 1:2 | $2,103.25 | $325.70 | $2,428.95 |
| 1:3 | $1,402.17 | $325.70 | $1,727.87 |
How it's worked out:
- Friday 6 pm to 10 pm (weekday evening; one worker across 8 pm is priced at the higher rate for the whole support): 4 × $81.07 (01_201)
- Friday night sleepover, 10 pm to 6 am: one × $311.79 (01_206)
- Saturday 6 am to 10 pm: 16 × $103.54 (01_202)
- Saturday night sleepover, 10 pm to 6 am: one × $311.79 (01_206)
- Sunday 6 am to 6 pm: 12 × $133.50 (01_203)
- Participant accommodation: 2 × $162.85 (01_250), one Day for each overnight stay
That's $4,206.50 of support at 1:1. For shared support, the schedule divides each participant's amount by the number of people in the group, so we divide the support (including the sleepovers) by the ratio. Accommodation is each person's own, so it isn't divided.
- Price limits, not quotes: the most a provider can charge NDIA-managed and plan-managed participants. Providers can charge less.
- Awake support for every hour outside the two sleepovers. If you're out on an activity or need less support, the cost is lower.
- A sleepover includes up to 2 hours of active support; more than that is claimed separately and isn't included.
- Not included: support worker accommodation (01_251, $162.85 a day, only if a worker needs a bed because you need support overnight), activities, transport and high intensity support.
- A weekend with a public holiday costs more: support that day is up to $163.46 an hour (01_204).
Planning a break over Christmas and January
- Book early. School holidays are the busiest time for respite, so talk to your provider now about the dates you want, especially over Christmas and New Year.
- Watch the public holidays. In Queensland, Christmas Eve from 6 pm, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Monday 28 December 2026 and New Year's Day are public holidays. Support during the stay on those days is priced at up to $163.46 an hour (01_204), while accommodation stays at $162.85 a day, so a holiday stay can use your budget faster. See NDIS public holiday rates in Queensland for every date and a planner.
- Make your Core funding last. STA comes from flexible Core funding, so plan the break alongside your other supports for the rest of the plan.
- Not in your plan yet? Talk to your support coordinator or NDIS contact, or raise it at your check-in meeting.
The October 2026 budget changes
From 1 October 2026, two budget categories are being reduced as plans are created, reassessed or renewed: Social, Economic and Community Participation, and Improved Daily Living Skills. The official announcements don't list STA among the reduced categories; STA is funded from Core. See our guide to the support budget changes from 1 October 2026.
Support for carers
If you're the person who usually provides care, the Australian Government's Carer Gateway offers planned and emergency respite and other support for carers. Call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.
How we can help
We provide respite at home and planned short stays across Ipswich and Springfield, Brisbane, Logan, Redlands and the Gold Coast, with support workers who hold an NDIS Worker Screening Check, First Aid and CPR.
Tell us when you'd like a break and what you enjoy, and we'll talk through options that fit your plan. You keep choice and control over where you stay and what you do.
Planning a break over the holidays?
Tell us your dates and what you enjoy, and we'll call you with respite options that fit your plan.
Common questions
How many days of STA can I have?
Generally up to 14 days at a time and up to 28 days a year. More is only funded in exceptional circumstances.
Is it called short term respite or short-term accommodation?
Short-term accommodation. The NDIA used "short term respite" from October 2025 and changed back from July 2026.
Does STA pay for food?
No. Food, meals, holiday packages and activity tickets aren't covered.
Can I get STA if I live in SIL?
Usually not. STA is for people whose main support comes from family or carers. If you live in SIL, the support in your home is already funded.
Can respite happen at home?
Yes. A support worker can come to your home so your usual carers can have a break.
Sources
- NDIS, What is short-term accommodation. www.ndis.gov.au (checked 8 Nov 2026)
- NDIS, Short term accommodation guideline (file dated 27 July 2026). www.ndis.gov.au (read 8 Nov 2026)
- NDIS, Pricing arrangements: NDIS pricing schedule 2026-27, effective 24 September 2026. www.ndis.gov.au (SIL prices read from the schedule 8 Nov 2026)
- NDIA news, Short term accommodation is now called short term respite (20 Oct 2025). www.ndis.gov.au (checked 8 Nov 2026)
- NDIA news, Children's Expert Advisory Group meeting summary, July 2026 (name changed back). www.ndis.gov.au (checked 8 Nov 2026)
- NDIA news, Changes to support budgets from 1 October (1 Oct 2026). www.ndis.gov.au (checked 7 Nov 2026)
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Funding changes for NDIS supports (updated 24 Sep 2026). www.health.gov.au (checked 7 Nov 2026)
- Carer Gateway, Planned and emergency respite. www.carergateway.gov.au (checked 8 Nov 2026)