Support where you already are
At home
Support in your own home while the people who usually provide it take a break. Nothing about your surroundings has to change.
Respite
Sometimesyoujustneedsomewhereelsetobe.
Short term respite gives you time away with the right support — and gives the people who care for you a genuine chance to rest.
Why respite exists
Everyoneneedsalittleroom.
Care is built on closeness. But closeness without a break wears down even the strongest arrangements — for everyone in them.
Short term respite is time apart from your usual care arrangements. You get support somewhere that feels like a change of pace. The people who support you day to day get to properly stop for a while.
It isn't a sign anything has gone wrong. It's how good arrangements stay good.
Two sides of a break
Onebreak,twokindsofrelief.
Time to do something different.
A change of scene, your own routine respected, and support from people who know how you like things done. Not a break from your life — a different few days inside it.
- Your usual support needs still met
- Your routine, preferences and pace
- Time to try something you don't usually get to
- Company if you want it, quiet if you don't
Before
Everything runs the way it always runs.
The same routines, the same people, the same week repeating. It works — until there's no room left in it.
The decision
Someone finally says it out loud.
That a break would help. That it's allowed. Booking respite is usually the hardest part, and it's mostly a conversation.
The change
Somewhere else to be, for a while.
Support at home, or a stay somewhere suited to you. Either way it's a change of scene, with your support needs still covered.
The days
Days that belong to you.
Mornings at your pace. Something new if you want it. Familiar comforts if you'd rather. The point is that it's yours.
After
Home again — with room in it.
You come back having done something. They come back having rested. The same week, but everyone has a bit more space in it.
- Home
- Pause
- Away
- Experience
- Return
Where your time can take you
Respitecanlookdifferentforeveryone.
Some people want to go somewhere. Some want everyone else to go somewhere. Both count.
Time somewhere suited to you
A quiet stay
A stay in accommodation that suits your needs, with support included. Clean, comfortable, and set up with the accessibility you actually require.
A few days that run differently
A new routine
A chance to do things a different way for a while — different mornings, different activities, with support alongside you for it.
Time around other people
With your community
Time to get out, see people and do everyday things — the shops, a coffee, somewhere you've been meaning to go.
What a suitable space should offer
Accessible
The access features you actually need, not a vague promise of accessibility.
Comfortable
Clean, warm and properly set up — somewhere you'd genuinely want to sleep.
Private
Your own space to retreat to when you've had enough of company.
Safe
Support available overnight where that's part of your usual arrangement.
Familiar
Your routines travel with you — mealtimes, sleep, medication, downtime.
What’s available depends on your needs and current availability — we’ll be straight with you about both before anything is arranged.
One day away
Whatdoesagooddaylooklike?
Pick a time. This is roughly how it goes.
7:30 AM
A slow start.
No rush and nowhere to be. Breakfast when you're ready, and help with getting up and going if that's part of your day.
Choice & control
Yourbreakshouldstillfeellikeyours.
Tap what matters to you. This is the kind of thing we plan around.
What we’d plan around
- Likes mornings. We'll build the day around an early start, not fight it.
- Enjoys outdoors. Time outside gets planned in, not squeezed in.
This is a starting point for a conversation, not a booking form. Your actual plan is built with you.
For carers
Sometimescaringmeansknowingwhentotakeabreath.
Short term respite exists because informal supports — parents, partners, siblings, friends — carry an enormous amount, and carrying it indefinitely without a break isn't sustainable for anyone.
Taking one isn't stepping back from someone you love. It's what makes it possible to keep going.
How it works
Arrangingitismostlyaconversation.
Talk to us
A conversation about what you need and what a break would actually look like.
Understand what you need
Your support needs, routines, access requirements and preferences — written down properly.
Plan your stay
Where, how long, and what's happening while you're there. Nothing booked until it fits.
Meet your support team
You meet the people supporting you before the stay, not on the day.
Take your time away
Your days, run the way you want them, with your usual support in place.
Return home
Back to your routine — and a handover so nothing gets lost in between.
Why families trust us with this
Abreakonlyworksifyou'renotworrying.
Registered NDIS provider
Respite delivered under the same registration as the rest of our supports.
Workers briefed properly
Your routines and support needs are handed over before your stay, not improvised.
Your choice of support
You have a say in who supports you, and can ask for someone you've met before.
Clear communication
Families know how the stay is going, at whatever level of contact suits everyone.
Overnight support where needed
If overnight support is part of your usual arrangement, it's part of your respite too.
Goes well with
Frequentlypairedwiththesesupports.
Questions
Thethingspeopleactuallyask.
Time apart from your usual care arrangements, with support in place, so the people who normally support you can take a short break. You still get the support you need — it's just provided by someone else, somewhere that may be a change of scene.
The NDIS now calls this support short term respite — it was previously called short term accommodation. Most families still say “respite”, so we use both. They refer to the same support.
It's generally for participants who live with their primary informal supports, or get regular daily support from them. The NDIS looks at how much disability-related support those informal supports are providing. Your planner or support coordinator can confirm whether it fits your situation.
Yes. Support can be provided in your own home while your usual supports take their break. It doesn't have to involve going anywhere.
Yes. Short term respite can include a stay in suitable accommodation, or a homestay arrangement with a support worker where you usually need overnight support. What suits you depends on your needs and what's available.
Most participants who are eligible are funded for up to 28 days a year, with a maximum of 14 days at a time. It can be used flexibly — a fortnight in one go, or a weekend here and there. Your own plan is what decides your amount.
The support you usually need — help with everyday activities, personal care, and overnight support where that's part of your normal arrangement. The aim is that your support doesn't drop just because your surroundings changed.
You can tell us your preferences, and we match where we can — including asking for someone you've already met. We'll be straight with you if availability makes that difficult for particular dates.
No. Short term respite isn't holiday funding. It doesn't cover holiday accommodation, airfares, or interstate and overseas travel for a holiday, and it doesn't cover tourist or entertainment costs. It funds support and suitable accommodation for a break from usual care arrangements.
It depends on your plan. If you're not sure, your support coordinator or planner can tell you what's funded — or talk to us and we can help you work out what to ask for.
It can change how a stay is paid for, but not what the support is. A plan may be self-managed, plan-managed or managed by the NDIA, which affects whether invoices go to you, a plan manager or the NDIA. Tell us how your plan is managed when you get in touch, and bring your plan details if you have them.
No. Getting in touch is an enquiry: a conversation about what you need, who the break is for and when. A stay is only arranged once you've talked it through with us and agreed the details.
WSS has specialised disability vehicles available for respite-related activities and transport. Tell us what you need when you get in touch, and we'll talk through what suits the trip.
Want to read more? What good respite looks like
This page explains how short term respite generally works. It isn’t funding advice — what’s funded is decided by your own NDIS plan, and your planner or support coordinator can confirm it.
Home again
Readyforalittleroomtobreathe?
Let's talk about what respite could look like for you.