Short term accommodation is the name the NDIS uses for a short, supported stay away from your usual care arrangements. It was called short term respite from 20 October 2025, and the NDIA later changed the term back. Both names describe the same support, and neither changes what your plan allows. This article explains the two-way rename, then covers the rules that decide what you can use.
Checked against ndis.gov.au on 2 November 2026. General information, not plan advice. Confirm current rules with the NDIS or your plan manager before you book.
Key takeaways
- The support has had two names: short term accommodation (STA) was renamed short term respite (STR) on 20 October 2025, and current NDIS guidance uses short term accommodation again.
- A rename is a change of label. Eligibility, funding and the day limits come from the plan and the NDIS guideline.
- It is usually funded for up to 28 days a year, in blocks of up to 14 consecutive days, with more only in exceptional circumstances.
- It covers standard accommodation plus everyday support. It is not SIL, not SDA and not a holiday.
- THA does not provide accommodation-based NDIS respite. If the goal is a break at home, ask about in-home NDIS support.
What disability short term accommodation is
Short term accommodation is an NDIS support that gives you time apart from the people who usually care for you, while someone else supports you. It lasts at least one night and can run longer. The NDIA’s short term accommodation guideline (PDF, 27 July 2026) calls it “mutually rewarding time apart”. It means time away from your primary informal supports: the family and friends who provide most of your unpaid, disability-related support.
Funding can cover standard accommodation such as a hotel, motel, short-stay rental or shared setting. It can also cover help with everyday activities like showering and cooking. A stay in your own home is funded too, but only for the support, not the accommodation.
What the NDIS calls it now
As at 2 November 2026, the official NDIS pages call it short-term accommodation. The support was called short term respite from 20 October 2025 until the NDIA reverted the term in 2026, so you will see both names in circulation. Short term accommodation (STA) and short term respite (STR) are the same support.
The sequence:
- 20 October 2025. The NDIA published Short term accommodation is now called short term respite. It said the new name “better reflects the purpose of the support”, and acknowledged that “some people have concerns about the word ‘respite’”.
- 1 July 2026. The 2026-27 pricing schedule took effect. It uses short term accommodation and separates the accommodation component from support worker hours.
- 16 July 2026. The NDIA’s Children’s Expert Advisory Group meeting summary states that the term “short term respite” was “changed back to ‘short-term accommodation’ in response to feedback from the community”.
The current NDIS page uses short term accommodation throughout and is current as of 1 July 2026. The guideline PDF is dated 27 July 2026 and uses the same term.
You will still find provider pages that present the 2025 rename as current. If a page says “STA is now STR” without mentioning the change back, check its date.
What changed, and what did not
The rename changed the label. It did not, by itself, change who qualifies, how much is funded or the number of days in the guideline. The July 2026 pricing change is a separate decision: it unbundles accommodation from support hours, so claims record what was delivered. That is a claiming change, not a consequence of the word “respite”.
| What changed | What did not change |
|---|---|
| The name in NDIS publications and the pricing schedule | Your plan rules and the funded amount |
| The claiming structure from 1 July 2026: accommodation and support hours are separate | The 28-day annual figure and the 14-day limit |
| The wording of the official guidance | The exclusions: no holidays, airfares, meals or tickets |
One nuance matters, because it is where most summaries go wrong. A rename is a description change, and a description change does not alter eligibility. But guidance can change eligibility independently. Read the current guideline rather than an older summary, and do not treat the name change as the cause of a funding decision.
Days, eligibility and plan rules
It is usually funded for up to 28 days a year, with stays of up to 14 consecutive days at a time. The guideline allows more in exceptional circumstances, and it may fund more than 28 days for a child at risk of leaving the family home, generally not beyond 60 days a year.
The 28-day figure is the guideline amount for a typical arrangement, not an entitlement every participant receives. Your planner decides the number of days, and some plans include fewer.
Eligibility asks three things:
- you live with your primary informal supports, or get daily drop-in support from them;
- they give you disability-related support for more than 6 hours a day, long term;
- at least one further factor applies. Examples include high-intensity support needs, complex behaviour support, few accessible in-home alternatives locally, or a carer at risk of not being able to keep caring.
The guideline also lists when support will not be funded. That includes living alone without drop-in support, getting more than 18 hours of paid support at home each day, and living in a supported independent living arrangement. Funding is flexible money in your Core budget.
How it differs from SIL, SDA and a holiday
Short term accommodation is short-stay support. Supported independent living (SIL) funds support workers who help or supervise you in your own home. Specialist disability accommodation (SDA) is the housing itself, built for people with very high support needs.
The NDIA’s SIL guidance puts it simply: SDA is the home, SIL is the support inside it. Short term accommodation sits outside both. It is a temporary stay, usually in mainstream accommodation, funded to give your usual carers a break.
Holidays are excluded. You cannot claim cruise and holiday packages, holiday accommodation, airfares, passports, travel insurance, meals or activity fees. Transport is generally not covered if you can travel independently.
If you want to stay at home instead
THA does not provide beds or accommodation-based NDIS respite, so this article is information only. If the break can happen at home, ask about in-home NDIS support. A support worker does the everyday work the carer would otherwise do, while the carer rests, works or attends to their own health.
That is a plan question rather than a name question. Ask the participant’s my NDIS contact or plan manager whether in-home support fits the plan and budget. Ask a provider to put the tasks, hours and costs in writing. Our guide to in-home respite care explains a home-based arrangement, and who pays for respite care in Australia covers the funding routes.
For Adelaide participants and families comparing disability supports, THA’s Disability Support Adelaide support is the place to start.
Frequently asked questions
Is short term accommodation now called short term respite?
It was from 20 October 2025, and the NDIA changed the term back in 2026. Both names refer to the same support. Current NDIS pages use short term accommodation; many providers still say short term respite or STR.
Did the 2025 rename change eligibility or funding?
No. The rename was a change to how the NDIS describes the support. Eligibility, funding and day limits come from your plan and the current guideline, which the NDIA has also updated.
How many days of short term accommodation can I use?
Generally up to 28 days per year, in blocks of up to 14 consecutive days. The NDIA may fund more in exceptional circumstances. Your plan sets the actual amount, which may be lower.
Who can get NDIS short term accommodation?
People who live with, or receive daily drop-in support from, primary informal supports. Those supports must give more than 6 hours a day of disability-related support, and at least one further factor in the guideline must apply. Children are funded only in exceptional situations.
Can I use it for a holiday?
No. Holiday accommodation, cruises, airfares, meals, activities and entry fees are not NDIS supports and cannot be claimed. Other funded supports can still be used while away.
The short version
The name has moved. The rules have not moved with the name. Check the official NDIS page for the current term, and check your plan and the current guideline for what you can use. Provider pages are useful for local availability. They are a poor source for a rule that changed in the last twelve months.
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