High Intensity Supports
Complexsupport,calmlyhandled.
Specialist disability support for participants whose daily needs require workers with additional skills, training and careful coordination.
- Who we support
- Participants with disability-related health support needs
- What that covers
- The eight NDIS high intensity daily personal activities
- How it's done safely
- A written plan, training tied to the NDIS skills descriptors, and clear escalation
- Where to start
- A conversation about your actual situation
Sometimesordinarysupportisn'tenough.
Most disability support is about everyday life — getting up, getting out, getting things done. Sometimes a participant also has disability-related health needs that sit inside that daily routine, and those need workers with specific training to do safely.
The NDIS calls this group of supports high intensity daily personal activities. It isn't a judgement about how complex someone's life is. It's a description of what a worker needs to know before they start.
Theeightsupports,inplainEnglish.
These are the eight areas the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission covers in its high intensity support skills descriptors. This is the official list — not a menu of what any one provider offers.
Supports people often ask about that aren’t on this list
Seizure and epilepsy support, Diabetes management support, Stoma care, Pressure care and repositioning are disability-related health supports, but they are not part of the NDIS high intensity skills descriptors. They may still be things we can help with — it’s worth asking rather than assuming either way.
Everythingisbuiltaroundoneperson.
Not around a condition, and not around a procedure. Select a layer to see what it holds.
You
What support is actually required.
The starting point is never a diagnosis — it's what needs to happen, when, and what good looks like for you. Written down plainly enough that a worker on their first shift can follow it.
- What support is needed
- When and how often
- What normal looks like for you
Complexdoesn'thavetomeancomplicated.
Almost all of it comes down to a small number of things being done consistently.
Understanding the plan
Workers read and follow the plan that exists for you — not a general approach to a general condition.
Knowing the participant
What's normal for you is the baseline. You can't spot a change in someone you don't know.
Following the agreed approach
Consistency between workers and between shifts. The same support, delivered the same way.
Recognising changes
Noticing early, when something is still small, is most of the skill.
Communicating clearly
Written down, handed over, and told to you — not just recorded somewhere you never see.
Escalating appropriately
Knowing what to act on, who to call, and when — decided in advance, not improvised.
Maintaining dignity
These supports are intensely personal. How they're delivered matters as much as that they're delivered.
Safetyisdesignedintothesupport.
Not added afterwards, and not dependent on any one person remembering.
Understand the needs
What support is required, how it's currently delivered, and what already works.
Follow the relevant plan
The plan written for you — and where health practitioners are involved, their directions.
Train the workers
For high intensity supports, workers need the skills and knowledge in the relevant NDIS skills descriptor. Training is delivered by an appropriately qualified health practitioner, or someone who meets that descriptor.
Deliver it consistently
The same approach every shift, by people who know you — not a different interpretation each time.
Notice and record changes
Observations written down properly, so a change over days is visible and not just a feeling.
Escalate when needed
An agreed order of who gets contacted, decided in advance so nobody has to work it out under pressure.
Training for high intensity supports must be delivered by an appropriately qualified health practitioner, or by someone who meets the relevant NDIS high intensity support skills descriptor. It does not have to be delivered by a nurse, and a support worker trained against the descriptor can provide these supports.
Supportfitsaroundtheday.Nottheotherwayround.
Morning routine
Support is at its most involved here — and then it's done, and the day is yours.
Personal care and any morning health supports, at your pace.
Behindeverycomplexsupportisapersonwithanordinarylife.
The support may be complex. Your life doesn't have to revolve around it. Everything on this page — the plans, the training, the escalation paths — exists so that the interesting parts of your week can be the interesting parts of your week.
Knowingsomeoneunderstandschangeseverything.
Families carrying complex support usually aren't looking for reassurance. They're looking for evidence that someone has actually read the plan.
That means knowing who is coming, that they've been trained for these specific supports, what they'll do if something changes, and who you can call without going through a queue.
You know the plan
The same document the workers follow is one you've seen and agreed to.
You know who's coming
Consistency of workers wherever rostering allows it, not a new face each shift.
You know what happens if
The escalation path is written down before it's ever needed.
You know who to contact
A named point of contact, not a general inbox.
Areyoulookingforsupportthatneedsadditionaltraining?
Tick anything that sounds familiar. Nothing here is assessed or stored — it’s just a way to organise your thoughts before you talk to someone.
Competenceisaprocess,notapromise.
Registered NDIS provider
High intensity supports are delivered under the same registration and obligations as the rest of our services.
Worker screening
Workers hold current NDIS worker screening before they support anyone.
Training is tied to the descriptors
Before anyone delivers a high intensity support, the NDIS requires workers to have the skills and knowledge in the relevant skills descriptor. We'll tell you exactly where we stand on the support you need.
A plan you've seen
Support follows a written plan developed with you, not an internal document you never read.
Clear escalation
Who to contact, and in what order, agreed before support starts.
Your choice of worker
You have a say in who supports you, and can ask for a change.
Frequentlypairedwiththesesupports.
Thethingsfamiliesactuallyask.
This page explains how high intensity supports generally work under the NDIS. It isn’t medical advice, it isn’t funding advice, and it doesn’t decide eligibility — what’s funded is set by your NDIS plan, and clinical decisions rest with the health practitioners involved in your care.
Complexsupportstartswithaconversation.
Tell us what support you or your family member needs. We'll listen, understand the situation, and talk through what may be possible — including being straight with you if it isn't something we can do.