High-Intensity Daily Personal Activities (HIDPA) in Craigieburn
NDIS Services at You Belong Care
- Assist Travel Transport
- Daily Living Life Skills
- Daily Personal Activities
- Group Activities
- Household Tasks
- Innovative Community Participation
- Supported Independent Living
- Life Stage Transition
- Community Participation
- High-Intensity Daily Personal Activities
- NDIS Support Worker
- Community Nursing Care
- Respite Care
- Therapeutic Supports
- NDIS Dietitian & Nutritionist
- Youth Mentoring
- Disability Accommodation
- SIL Vacancies
- NDIS Worker Screening Check
When a participant needs PEG feeding, tracheostomy care, ventilation support or seizure management as part of their daily routine, standard personal care funding does not cover the training required. HIDPA is the NDIS funding category that recognises this complexity and pays for workers with specific clinical competencies.
You Belong Care delivers HIDPA across Craigieburn and the 20km radius around it, with registered nurse oversight, task-specific training signed off against the NDIS High Intensity Support Skills Descriptors, and the same small team of workers across each participant’s roster. The training matters — but so does the fact that the worker turning up at 6:30am knows you, not just the task.
HIDPA We Deliver
- PEG and enteral feeding (gastrostomy, jejunostomy, nasogastric)
- Tracheostomy care — suctioning, stoma care, tube changes
- Ventilation support — invasive and non-invasive
- Complex bowel care — digital stimulation, stoma management, bowel washouts
- Continence care — indwelling catheter, suprapubic catheter, bladder washouts
- Complex wound care — stage 3 and 4 pressure injuries, surgical wounds
- Seizure management and emergency medication (e.g. midazolam)
- Subcutaneous injections
- Diabetes management requiring insulin administration
What Makes a Support "High Intensity" Under the NDIS
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission publishes a list called the High Intensity Support Skills Descriptors. These identify specific tasks where a standard disability support worker does not have the baseline training to deliver safely, and additional competency is required.
A task becomes HIDPA if it appears on that list. A support worker can only deliver the task once they have been trained and assessed by a registered health practitioner — usually an RN. The training is task-specific: a worker trained to deliver PEG feeding is not automatically trained to suction a tracheostomy. Each skill is separate.
This is what separates HIDPA from standard daily personal activities. Standard personal care (showering, dressing, toileting) is covered by general disability training. HIDPA requires clinical skills.
Who Needs HIDPA Support
HIDPA is typically funded for participants with complex medical conditions alongside their disability. Common cohorts:
- Participants with severe cerebral palsy requiring PEG feeding and airway management
- Participants with muscular dystrophy or motor neurone disease needing ventilation support
- Participants with spinal cord injury requiring bowel care programs and catheter management
- Participants with epilepsy where seizures require emergency medication
- Participants with brain injury and tracheostomy
- Participants recently discharged from hospital with ongoing complex medical needs
- Participants with diabetes and intellectual disability who cannot self-administer insulin
Funding for HIDPA is separate from standard personal care and is usually identified during planning. If you are unsure whether your plan funds HIDPA, our support coordination team can review it with you.
How We Train HIDPA Workers
Every HIDPA worker at You Belong Care starts with a Certificate III or IV in Individual Support or Disability, then completes:
- Task-specific theory — usually an accredited course covering the physiology, risks, technique, and emergency response for a specific skill.
- Simulation practice — hands-on practice with a registered nurse before approaching a participant.
- Participant-specific competency — the worker is assessed delivering the task for the specific participant, signed off by the delegated nurse.
- Supervised shifts — first shifts are observed or supervised, progressing to independent delivery once competency is confirmed.
- Annual reassessment — every HIDPA skill is reviewed annually by the overseeing nurse.
If the participant’s needs change — say, the PEG feeding regime is modified or ventilation pressures change — workers are retrained on the new protocol before the change is implemented.
Registered Nurse Oversight
Every HIDPA participant has a delegated RN who provides oversight. Their role includes:
- Signing off worker competency assessments before any HIDPA task is delivered
- Reviewing the care plan every 3 months (more often if needs are changing)
- Being available for escalation during shifts — phone support 7 days a week
- Attending incidents or near-misses in person and updating the plan as needed
- Liaising with the participant’s GP, specialists and allied health team
- Coordinating with the community nursing care team when clinical procedures overlap
RN oversight is funded within HIDPA line items at NDIS Price Guide rates. There is no additional cost to you beyond what your plan provides.
HIDPA vs Community Nursing — What's the Difference?
There is overlap, and participants often need both. Here is how the roles split:
| HIDPA Worker | Community Nurse |
|---|---|
| Delivers defined, repeatable clinical tasks under training sign-off | Delivers clinical assessment, intervention and care planning |
| Cert III/IV + task-specific competency | Registered Nurse (Bachelor of Nursing + AHPRA registration) |
| Can deliver PEG feeding, seizure emergency meds, catheter care, suctioning | Can complete wound assessment, medication reviews, clinical decision-making |
| Present for multiple hours per shift as primary carer | Usually shorter clinical visits — 30 minutes to 2 hours |
| Funded under HIDPA line items | Funded under Community Nursing Care line items |
Many participants have a community nursing care arrangement for clinical procedures (wound dressings, medication reviews, stoma assessment) alongside HIDPA workers for the daily routine. We coordinate both if delivered by You Belong Care.
Incident Response and Safety
HIDPA shifts involve higher risk than standard personal care. We take that seriously.
- Every shift has a documented care plan with step-by-step procedures. No worker improvises HIDPA tasks.
- Emergency protocols are reviewed at the start of every shift — what to do if the PEG dislodges, if a seizure lasts over 5 minutes, if ventilation alarms go off.
- Workers carry a direct escalation line to the on-call RN, available 24/7.
- All incidents and near-misses are reported within 24 hours and reviewed by the RN and clinical lead.
- Serious incidents are reported to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission within the required timeframes.
- We run a quarterly clinical governance meeting to review trends and refresh protocols.
HIDPA Funding and Hours in Your Plan
HIDPA funding is identified separately in NDIS plans, usually as line items under Core Supports with “high intensity” in the name. Typical funding allocations:
- Participants needing 2-4 hours of HIDPA daily (PEG feeds, medication administration): 15-30 hours/week
- Participants needing continuous HIDPA presence (ventilation, active seizure management): up to 168 hours/week (24/7) delivered in SIL settings
- Participants with occasional HIDPA needs (weekly wound dressings, monthly catheter changes): 2-10 hours/month
If your current plan does not fund HIDPA but your needs suggest it should, a plan review is warranted. Our support coordinators prepare the evidence — reports from your RN, GP, specialists — to support the case.
How to Start HIDPA Support
HIDPA is not a service we can start in 48 hours. Training and competency assessment take time. A typical start-up sequence:
- Initial meeting (1-2 weeks from enquiry). Review plan, confirm HIDPA tasks required, meet the clinical lead.
- Care plan development (1-2 weeks). RN drafts the plan, cross-checks with GP/specialists, participant and family approve.
- Worker matching and training (2-6 weeks depending on complexity). We select candidate workers, train on the specific tasks, complete competency sign-off.
- Supervised shifts (first 1-2 weeks). Workers deliver HIDPA under observation. Any adjustments to the plan happen now.
- Ongoing delivery. Regular shifts commence with the trained worker pool.
- Quarterly review. RN reviews the plan, outcomes, and any changes needed.
For hospital discharges, the timeline can be compressed if advance notice is provided. We coordinate directly with hospital discharge planners and NDIS funding bodies to get training in place before discharge where possible.
Start Your HIDPA Arrangement
Call us to begin the process. Complex care deserves a careful setup — expect the first meeting to run 60-90 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is high-intensity daily personal activities?
HIDPA is NDIS-funded personal care that includes clinical tasks requiring additional training — PEG feeding, tracheostomy care, ventilation support, complex bowel care, seizure management, subcutaneous injections, complex wound care. Workers need task-specific clinical training signed off by a registered nurse.
How is HIDPA different from standard personal care?
Standard daily personal activities covers showering, dressing, toileting — tasks a disability support worker can safely deliver with general training. HIDPA covers tasks on the NDIS High Intensity Support Skills Descriptors that need clinical competency. The worker, the training and the oversight are different.
Are your HIDPA workers qualified?
Yes. Every HIDPA worker holds Cert III or IV in Individual Support, plus task-specific training signed off by a registered nurse. Training is renewed annually and audited. We never deliver a HIDPA task without documented worker competency.
Is there nurse oversight for my HIDPA support?
Yes. Every HIDPA participant has a delegated RN who reviews the care plan, signs off worker competency, and is available by phone during shifts. This is built into the funding and there is no additional cost to you.
Can I use HIDPA funding alongside community nursing care?
Yes, and many participants do. HIDPA workers deliver the daily routine (multiple hours per shift). Community nurses provide clinical assessment, intervention and shorter specialised visits. They are funded separately and work together.
Do I need to have a support coordinator to access HIDPA?
Not strictly, but most HIDPA participants benefit from coordination given the complexity. We can deliver HIDPA alongside coordination, or work with an external coordinator you already have.
Can HIDPA be delivered in SIL homes?
Yes. Several of our SIL residents require HIDPA-level support as part of their 24/7 care. Our SIL workers are trained to HIDPA level where the home’s residents need it. See Supported Independent Living for details.
How quickly can HIDPA start?
Usually 3-6 weeks from first enquiry. Training and competency assessment take time and we do not cut corners. Hospital discharge timelines can be compressed if we get advance notice to train workers before discharge.
What happens if there is a clinical incident during my shift?
The worker follows the documented emergency protocol, contacts the on-call RN, and takes appropriate clinical action. Serious incidents are reported within 24 hours and reviewed by the clinical lead. The plan is updated if improvements are needed.
How do I start?
Call us on +61 479 183 696. First conversation identifies what HIDPA tasks you need, confirms funding in your plan, and arranges an initial meeting with our clinical lead. The RN takes it from there.