NDIS Respite Care 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
Primary carers need breaks. Not as a luxury — as a survival mechanism. Caring full-time for a family member with significant disability without time off leads to burnout, resentment, depression and physical health problems. The NDIS recognises this and funds respite specifically to keep family caring arrangements sustainable long-term.
You Belong Care delivers respite across two formats: STA (Short-Term Accommodation) where the participant stays at one of our respite accommodation houses for 1-14 days, and in-home respite where a support worker comes to the family home while the carer gets a break.
Respite Options We Offer
- Overnight respite (1-2 nights) — weekend breaks for families
- Short stays (3-7 days) — holiday breaks, surgical recovery for carer
- Extended respite (8-14 days) — significant carer breaks or transition planning
- In-home respite (hours or days) — support worker comes to you
- Emergency respite — same-day or 24-hour response for crisis situations
- Regular scheduled respite — one weekend a month, or one week per quarter
STA vs In-Home Respite — What Works When
There are two respite formats, and they work for different situations.
| STA (Short-Term Accommodation) | In-Home Respite |
|---|---|
| Participant stays at our respite house | Support worker comes to your home |
| Family gets the house back to themselves | Participant stays in familiar environment |
| Includes accommodation + meals + 24/7 support | Just the support worker time |
| Best for multi-day breaks | Best for hours or a day-off |
| Funded under STA line items in the plan | Funded under Core Supports |
| Works well for carer holiday breaks | Works well for carer appointments, weekend events |
Many families use both. STA a couple of times a year for longer breaks, in-home respite weekly or monthly for shorter ones.
Our Respite Accommodation
Our STA houses are ordinary residential homes, configured for respite stays. Not institutions. Features across our respite homes:
- Private bedrooms with single or double bed options
- Shared living, dining and kitchen areas
- Wheelchair accessible bathrooms
- Ceiling hoist in accessible room where needed
- Fully fenced yards
- 24/7 support worker on-site
- Registered nurse on-call
- Laundry, internet, entertainment equipment
Most respite houses accommodate 2-4 participants during a stay. Some prefer sole occupancy — we arrange that for participants who find shared stays difficult.
What's Included During a Respite Stay
- Accommodation in a furnished house — linen, towels, amenities provided.
- All meals and snacks. Dietary requirements met — halal, kosher, vegetarian, diabetic, texture-modified.
- 24/7 support staff — personal care, meals, medications, evening and overnight support.
- Daily activities — outings, games, movies, cooking together, local walks.
- Medication administration as per participant's normal regime.
- Transport to and from the respite house (arranged separately but coordinated).
- Registered nurse oversight where clinical needs exist.
- Communication with family during stay — updates, photos (with consent), emergency contact.
Who Respite Is For
Respite works for a wide range of participants:
- Adults with intellectual disability, autism or psychosocial disability living with family
- Adults with physical disability or complex medical needs where family provides primary care
- Young adults who benefit from exposure to independent living before a potential move
- Participants whose primary carer is aging or has their own health issues
- Families in crisis — hospitalisation of a primary carer, bereavement, unmanageable situations
- Participants where respite is a testing ground for future SIL placement
Some participants use respite as a tryout for Supported Independent Living. The short stay shows whether a shared setting suits them before committing to a move. If it goes well, transition to SIL becomes less fraught.
Respite for Complex Care Needs
Respite participants with HIDPA-level needs — PEG feeding, tracheostomy, seizure management — can still use respite. We arrange:
- Pre-stay training for respite workers on the specific clinical tasks
- Registered nurse sign-off on the care plan before arrival
- Clinical equipment in place (suction, oxygen, hoist) before arrival
- Direct communication channel with the participant’s usual nursing team
Complex respite needs 2-4 weeks of pre-planning. We cannot do a same-day respite for complex participants. Emergency arrangements for uncomplicated participants can often be done in 24-48 hours.
How Respite Is Funded
NDIS STA is funded at rates that cover accommodation, meals and support for a set number of days per year. Typical allocations:
- Standard plan: up to 28 days of STA per year
- Plans with high carer load: 28-60+ days per year
- In-home respite: funded separately under Core Supports (per hour)
Plans sometimes fund specific blocks (4 stays of 7 days) and sometimes a pool (28 days, use as you wish). Check your plan or ask us.
STA rates include accommodation, so there is no separate rent. Meals, activities and support are all in the funded rate.
How to Book a Respite Stay
- Contact us 2-6 weeks in advance for planned respite (earlier for peak times — Christmas, school holidays).
- Meet-and-greet at the respite house (for first-time stays) — helps the participant settle.
- Care plan completion — we need medication list, dietary needs, daily routine, emergency contacts.
- Booking confirmed — dates, room, staff allocation.
- Arrival day — family drops off, handover with staff, orientation.
- During stay — regular family updates, photo share with consent.
- End of stay — family collects or transport home arranged. Feedback captured for next time.
Emergency Respite
For true emergencies (carer hospitalisation, bereavement, crisis) we can often arrange same-day or 24-hour respite. Call our number and tell us the situation — we will move fast.
Why Respite Matters for Long-Term Care
Families that use respite regularly sustain caring arrangements longer. That is consistent in the research and consistent in our experience. Without breaks, primary carers burn out in 3-5 years. With regular breaks — even one weekend a month — caring can continue for decades.
Respite also benefits the participant. Time away from family, with different support workers and different routines, builds resilience, social skills, and adaptability. Many participants enjoy respite stays — it feels like a mini-holiday, not a drop-off.
Book Your First Respite Stay
The hardest part is the first booking. Once you have done one, the rest is easy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is NDIS respite care called formally?
Short-Term Accommodation and Assistance (STA). This is the line item in NDIS plans that covers respite stays. Some plans also fund in-home respite under Core Supports.
How many days of respite am I funded for?
Most plans fund up to 28 days of STA per year. Some plans with high carer load fund more. Plans sometimes specify blocks (e.g. 4 stays of 7 days) and sometimes a pool you can use as needed.
Can I do respite in my own home?
Yes. In-home respite — where a support worker comes to your home while the primary carer takes a break — is funded under Core Supports rather than STA line items. This is per hour, not per day.
Can I have respite at your house for just one night?
Yes. One-night or weekend stays are common. We have participants who come in one Friday night to Saturday morning every month.
Will the same people look after the participant each stay?
Where possible, yes. Most respite participants have a familiar set of staff members they see each stay. New staff are introduced during handover.
Can I visit during the stay?
Yes. Visits during stays are welcome and usually encouraged for the first stay. After that, most families prefer to step back and give the participant space to settle.
What should we bring to respite?
Personal items, favourite clothes, medications in original packaging (we will transcribe), any special food items, comforts (pillow, teddy, music device). We provide everything else.
What if my participant has complex care needs?
We can handle PEG feeding, tracheostomy care, seizure management and other HIDPA needs during respite — but we need 2-4 weeks lead time to train respite staff on the specific tasks.
Can respite be used as a trial for SIL?
Yes — and it is a great way to test whether a SIL move is the right next step. Some families use respite specifically for this purpose. See our Supported Independent Living page.
How do I book?
Call +61 479 183 696. First-time bookings need 2-4 weeks for the intake and meet-and-greet. Emergency respite can sometimes be arranged in 24 hours for uncomplicated participants.