NDIS Core Support: Assistance with Daily Living

About Activities of Daily Living

Activities of daily living, or ADLs, are the everyday tasks needed to live independently. These include basic self-care activities such as grooming and dressing as well as more complex tasks like managing household finances.

There are seven basic ADLs: eating, bathing or showering, grooming, dressing and undressing, toileting, and mobility. Each activity encompasses multiple abilities; for example, dressing includes choosing appropriate clothing for the situation and weather as well as putting clothing on without assistance. Toileting includes both noticing the need to use the restroom and getting to the toilet independently.

A person with a disability may not need support with an activity of daily living, even if that activity is affected by their disability. For example, a person who uses a wheelchair might be able to move their wheelchair without help and transfer themselves to a bed or chair when needed. This person can move themselves everywhere they need to go without help, and so they would not need support with the ADL of mobility. However, a person who needs someone to help them get in and out of bed would need mobility support. As you are designing your NDIS plan, it’s important to identify your functional needs and determine the individualised support that will best support you.

Similarly, core support for ADLs can include any aspect of accomplishing necessary tasks. For example, a person might need support with eating because they aren’t able to pick up food. Or, they might be able to pick up, chew, and swallow food, but they aren’t able to prepare meals independently. Your core support budget is flexible to enable you to spend funds on the support that best meets your needs.

The ADL support budget can also be used for help with more complex tasks such as cooking and household management. These activities require more complex thinking and planning than basic ADLs, and they may also require more complex physical abilities. They include activities such as managing finances, shopping, cooking, doing laundry, cleaning and maintaining a house, managing medications, and managing transportation around the community.

Examples of Activities of Daily Living

Daily Personal Activities

• A support worker to visit you daily and assist you with bathing, grooming, eating, toileting, dressing, or other self-care tasks 
• A support worker to visit you regularly and assist with personal household tasks such as cleaning after a meal or cleaning your bathroom after a shower 

High-Intensity Daily Personal Activities

• A skilled support worker to assist with meals if you require enteral feeding 
• A support worker who can provide tracheostomy care if you have a tracheostomy or use a ventilator 
• A support worker to provide subcutaneous injections of medication if you are unable to self-administer injections

Assistance with Household Tasks

• House cleaning
• Laundry
• Washing dishes
• Lawn mowing 
• General maintenance

Why should you choose South West Care Services?

• We ensure you receive the most out of your core support budget.
• We are a registered NDIS provider ensuring we meet the NDIS Practice Standards while providing services 
• We work with you to provide service at your convenience from Sydney CBD to Greater Sydney
• Our support workers are experienced and are trained regularly to meet the NDIS Practice standard.
• We arrange different and exciting activities that will entice your interest.