Can NDIS fund someone to clean your house? Mow your lawn? Cook your meals? The answers are yes, sometimes, and yes — but each one comes with conditions. Household support is one of those NDIS categories where the rules sound simple but the details matter.
The core principle is this: NDIS funds household tasks that you can't do because of your disability, and that someone in your situation would normally be expected to do for themselves. NDIS isn't a domestic cleaning service. It's a way of plugging gaps that disability creates in your ability to maintain your home.
Full list of covered tasks
NDIS Household Support — Registration Group 0120, Assistance with Household Tasks — generally covers:
Cleaning. Vacuuming, mopping, dusting, bathroom cleaning, kitchen cleaning, changing bed linen. Routine domestic cleaning that's part of running a household.
Laundry. Washing, drying, folding, putting away. Light hand-washing of delicate items if needed.
Meal preparation. Planning meals, grocery shopping, cooking, serving, washing up after. Usually done as part of a personal care or household shift, not as a standalone "chef" service.
Light home maintenance. Tasks like changing light bulbs, taking the bins out, basic tidying.
Pet care assistance. Feeding pets, basic pet care if it's part of running your household. Note: NDIS doesn't fund veterinary costs or pet food.
Shopping support. Help getting to the shops, choosing items, carrying them home, putting them away. Or online grocery ordering with you.
Light gardening. Watering plants, weeding garden beds, sweeping outdoor areas. Mowing the lawn is a separate question (see below).
Bin management. Putting bins out for collection, bringing them back in.
The general rule is that workers do these tasks alongside you when possible — so you stay involved and don't lose skills you have — and do them for you when participation isn't realistic.
What's not covered
Some things people commonly ask about that NDIS doesn't fund:
Major house cleaning like bond cleans, end-of-lease cleans, post-renovation cleans, or once-a-year deep cleans. These are usually considered one-off domestic services, not ongoing disability support.
Repairs and maintenance of the house itself — fixing leaks, painting, electrical work, plumbing. NDIS doesn't fund tradesperson costs.
Major gardening including tree pruning, hedge cutting, large-scale landscaping. Sometimes minor garden tidying gets included; large work doesn't.
Childcare. Even if you have a disability that affects parenting, NDIS doesn't pay for someone to look after your children.
General running errands unrelated to disability — picking up dry cleaning for someone else in the household, going to the post office for non-disability-related items.
Cooking elaborate meals purely as a service. NDIS funds meal prep that addresses your inability to safely or practically cook for yourself, not personal chef arrangements.
Lawn mowing and garden — the rules
This question comes up constantly. Can NDIS fund lawn mowing?
The answer: sometimes, but rarely as a standalone tradesperson cost. The reasoning NDIA applies is that lawn mowing isn't disability-specific — most homeowners and renters need to manage lawns regardless of disability. So NDIA generally won't fund a contractor to come and mow.
However: if you have a disability that prevents you from mowing your own lawn, and you'd otherwise be expected to do it, your support worker can help with it as part of a household support shift. So instead of paying $80 for a lawnmowing contractor, your worker mows the lawn during their existing shift hours.
Same logic applies to garden maintenance, washing the car, and similar outdoor tasks. They can be done as part of household support hours, but generally not funded as separate tradesperson services.
If you live in a unit complex with body corporate fees that cover lawn maintenance, NDIS won't fund duplicate services.
Meal prep vs cooking support
Two different things often confused.
Meal preparation is a worker preparing food for you — cooking, plating, serving. You may not be involved at all, or only in a limited way (choosing menus, eating). This is funded as household support.
Cooking support is a worker helping you cook for yourself — building skills, supervising for safety, prompting through steps. The goal is independence in cooking. This is funded as life skills development under Capacity Building, not household support.
Sometimes both apply to the same participant — meal prep for the days you're tired, cooking support for the days you're working on building skills.
How much household support are you entitled to
There's no fixed entitlement. Your funding is set based on your assessed need at planning. Common allocations look like:
Two hours a week for someone with moderate needs (light cleaning, laundry, occasional meal prep).
Four to six hours a week for someone with greater needs (full cleaning, regular meal prep, shopping support).
Daily support for participants with high physical or cognitive disability where independent household management isn't possible.
If your existing allocation isn't enough, the case for more usually requires evidence — an OT report on your functional capacity, photos of the impact on your home environment, or a clear description of what you can and can't do.
Practical tips for using household support
A few things that come up regularly:
Be specific in your service agreement. "Two hours of household support" can mean different things to different workers. Specify what tasks are priorities — cleaning, laundry, meal prep — and in what order.
Don't expect deep cleaning every visit. Two-hour shifts are for ongoing maintenance, not yearly intensive cleans.
Provide cleaning products and equipment. Workers don't bring supplies. Make sure you have what's needed before they arrive.
Communicate changes. If your needs shift week to week, tell your worker so they can prioritise differently. Workers can't read your mind.
Use shifts for higher-value tasks first. If you only have two hours, do the things you can't easily do alone — heavy bathroom cleaning, vacuuming, changing the bed — before lower-priority tasks.
Frequently asked questions
Can a worker take my dog for a walk?
Sometimes, yes — especially if the walk is part of broader community participation or if you're walking together. As a standalone pet care task without disability connection, less likely.
Can my worker do the shopping while I stay home?
Yes, this is common for participants with mobility limitations or fatigue. The worker takes a list and goes alone, or you order online together and they pick up. Support during the shopping is also possible.
Can NDIS fund a regular cleaner once a fortnight?
Yes, if your plan allocates enough hours and the cleaning addresses disability-related need. The "cleaner" is your support worker — they're employed by your provider, not contracted as a cleaning company.
What if I want help cleaning a partner's car or partner's items?
NDIS funds support for you, not for other people in your household. Workers shouldn't be doing tasks for partners or housemates that don't relate to your disability.
If you want to know more about household support and what your plan can fund in your situation, contact Seareal. We work across Queensland and can talk you through it without any obligation.