NDIS respite care providers in South Australia

What does respite care mean?

Respite care is short-term support that gives a family carer a break while someone else looks after the person they care for. It runs from a few hours in the home to an overnight stay, a day programme, or a stay of several weeks in accommodation. The person being cared for still gets their usual support; what changes is who provides it.

The word “respite” means a short rest from something difficult, and that is exactly its role here: it is funded for the carer’s benefit as much as the care recipient’s. Under the NDIS overnight respite is called short-term accommodation (STA), funded from a participant’s Core Supports budget (NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27). Older Australians reach it through Support at Home, the Commonwealth Home Support Programme or residential respite in an aged care home. Carer Gateway funds respite for carers regardless of whether the person they care for has a plan at all.

How long can someone stay in respite care?

The limit depends on which system pays, and the two are set independently.

NDIS short-term accommodation (STA): up to 28 days a year, capped at 14 days at a time. A participant generally needs an informal carer providing more than 6 hours of daily support to qualify, and is ineligible if already receiving more than 18 hours of paid support a day or living in SIL or ILO arrangements (NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27).

Residential aged care respite: up to 63 subsidised days each financial year. That can be extended in blocks of 21 days where an aged care assessor approves it, following approval through My Aged Care (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2025).

In-home and centre-based respite: no fixed day limit. These are billed by the hour against a Support at Home or CHSP budget, so the real limit is the size of the budget rather than a day count.

There is no rule that respite must be taken in one block. Splitting an allowance into regular short breaks is often more sustainable for a carer than saving it for one long stay.

The four types of respite care

Most people arrive looking for “respite” and need one of four quite different things. Naming the right one first saves a lot of wasted calls.

1. In-home respite. A support worker comes to the home for a few hours while the carer goes out, rests or sleeps. The person being cared for stays in their own surroundings and routine, which is why it is usually the least disruptive option. Funded hourly through the NDIS, Support at Home or CHSP. This is the most searched form of respite and the one most providers offer.

2. Centre-based (day) respite. A structured day programme at a community venue with group activities, transport often included. Commonly funded through CHSP, and it suits carers who need predictable weekly hours rather than occasional cover. The social contact is a benefit in its own right for the person attending.

3. Residential (short-stay) respite. A short stay in an aged care home, subsidised by government with the person paying a basic daily fee of approximately $68.93 a day. Suited to longer breaks, planned surgery or recovery. Requires approval through My Aged Care (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2025).

4. Emergency respite. Cover arranged at short notice when a carer falls ill, is injured or faces a crisis. Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 answers 24 hours a day and can arrange it whether or not the person cared for holds any funded plan. This is the one most families do not know exists until they need it.

For NDIS participants, respite away from home is called Short Term Accommodation and is billed per 24 hours rather than hourly. It plays the same role as residential respite does in aged care.

How to arrange respite care: five steps

1. Work out which of the four types you need. Hours point to in-home or centre-based; days or weeks point to residential respite or Short Term Accommodation.

2. Identify the funding door. NDIS for participants under 65, Support at Home or CHSP for older Australians, Carer Gateway for the carer regardless of the other two, and DVA for eligible veterans. This determines who you can approach.

3. Get assessed if you are not already. Older Australians are assessed through My Aged Care; NDIS participants need short-term accommodation (STA) in the plan. Carer Gateway has its own process and does not require either.

Carevo measures whether a provider accepts an enquiry, not when care starts or a practitioner contacts you. Confirm current capacity and a start date directly. How Carevo measures enquiry acceptance.

5. Book the next one before you need it. Emergency respite is harder to arrange and more disruptive than planned respite. Carers who book a recurring block generally hold it more reliably than those who ask each time.

Respite supply in Australia

Carevo lists 15,452 providers offering respite across 8,918 suburbs, which is 44.7 per cent of the 34,600 providers on the platform. Of those, 13,491 accept NDIS funding, 2,978 accept aged care package funding, 2,244 accept CHSP and 1,633 accept DVA.

Supply is concentrated in the eastern states: 5,068 in NSW and 4,646 in Victoria, against 213 in Tasmania and 296 in the Northern Territory. Respite is named in 250 of 9,483 tracked enquiries on the platform.

How much does respite care cost per day?

There is no single national price, because four funding systems price it differently.

Two points change the arithmetic. Support at Home price caps were deferred in May 2026, so aged care providers currently set their own hourly rates and written price lists are worth comparing directly (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2026). And these are the prices charged, not what you pay: where the hours are funded, the out-of-pocket amount is nil or limited to a contribution.

Who pays for respite care in Australia?

Five funding doors, and which one applies depends on the person being cared for, not the carer.

The NDIS pays for short-term accommodation (STA) and in-home respite from a participant’s Core Supports budget, for participants under 65.

Support at Home pays for in-home and centre-based respite for older Australians assessed through My Aged Care, from the quarterly budget.

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme funds entry-level respite for older Australians not yet on a Support at Home budget, with a client contribution set by the provider.

Residential respite is subsidised directly by the government to the aged care home; the person pays the basic daily fee.

Carer Gateway funds planned and emergency respite for the carer, at no cost where approved, and does not require the person being cared for to hold any plan. This is the door most carers do not know exists.

A carer can hold more than one of these at once. The rule across all of them is that two systems cannot fund the same hours.

What should I do if I need emergency respite care today?

Call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737. The Australian Government’s carer support service answers 24 hours a day and can arrange emergency respite whether or not the person you care for has an aged care or NDIS plan. Call it first if illness, injury or a family crisis suddenly leaves you unable to care.

Carevo measures whether a provider accepts an enquiry, not when care starts or a practitioner contacts you. Confirm current capacity and a start date directly. How Carevo measures enquiry acceptance.

How to choose a respite provider from the list above

The list above is ranked using the criteria explained in the methodology above it. Four checks matter for respite specifically.

Registration. Check NDIS Commission registration for NDIS-funded respite, and Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission registration for Support at Home or CHSP funded stays, using the official registers.

Carevo measures whether a provider accepts an enquiry, not when care starts or a practitioner contacts you. Confirm current capacity and a start date directly. How Carevo measures enquiry acceptance.

Setting. Confirm the provider offers the specific setting you need, whether in-home, overnight, centre-based or a short accommodation stay, not just a general respite listing.

Continuity. Ask whether the same worker will come each time; a familiar face is usually what makes the break workable for the person receiving care.

In-home respite care, centre-based or residential: which do you need?

In-home respite means a worker comes to your home for a few hours or overnight while you go out or rest. It is the least disruptive option because the person’s routine and surroundings stay the same; overnight care covers the all-night versions in detail. Centre-based respite is a day programme at a community venue with group activities, a common CHSP service that gives a carer predictable weekly hours. Residential respite is a short stay in an aged care home, suited to longer breaks, and NDIS Short Term Accommodation plays the equivalent role for participants. Match the setting to the length of the break: hours suit in-home or centre-based; days or weeks usually mean residential respite or STA.

Finding respite care in South Australia

Respite is easiest to arrange before you urgently need it. Working out in advance which providers cover South Australia, and what your funding allows, means you are not scrambling during a crisis. When you do need someone quickly, the practical questions are how fast a provider can start, whether they offer in-home, overnight or centre-based support, and whether they can bill against your NDIS or Support at Home budget. Matching on funding type first saves time, since a provider set up for a self-managed NDIS participant in South Australia may differ from one geared to Support at Home or CHSP. If you are not sure whether you need a break yet, the caregiver burnout quiz takes a few minutes and gives an honest read on your current load.

Availability on Carevo

Carevo currently lists 34,600 registered providers across 8,918 suburbs, including respite and support worker providers who can be matched to your funding type and timeframe. Respite is named in 250 of the 9,483 tracked inquiries on the platform. For breaks longer than a fortnight, live-in care is sometimes a better fit than repeated respite bookings.

How this page is compiled

The provider rankings and figures on this page come from Carevo platform records, including provider registrations, measured response times and coverage, together with the cited official sources. Carevo is an Australian platform that connects families with NDIS and aged care providers. Carevo does not deliver care itself.

Funding sources and checks

Check the current NDIA pricing arrangements and Support at Home program rules for the proposed service. Funding depends on the approved support and available budget; a Carevo listing is not approval. Confirm availability and a start date directly with the provider.