Most of what's written about the NDIS is written for participants — the person with disability. This one is written for you, the family carer, because you matter to this system too, even though it wasn't built around you.
If you've spent hours on the NDIS website looking for "your" funding and come up empty, you're not missing something. It genuinely isn't there in the way you might expect. Here's what is.
The NDIS participant — your partner, your child, your parent, your sibling — is the NDIS's client. Not you. The plan, the goals, the funded supports: all of it is built around them and their assessed needs. There is no such thing as "a carer's NDIS plan." Funding does not flow to you directly, and it isn't meant to.
This is a structural fact, not a criticism, and understanding it early saves a lot of frustrated searching. It also tells you where to look next: not deeper into the participant's plan, but at the separate systems that exist specifically for carers.
"You will not find a line item in an NDIS plan called 'for the carer.' But some of what's funded in someone else's plan can still change your week — and separate systems exist that are actually about you."
Even though the funding legally belongs to the participant, several things that can be included in an NDIS plan have a direct, practical effect on a carer's life:
None of these make you an NDIS participant, and none of them are guaranteed — what goes into a plan depends on an individual assessment of that person's needs. But it's worth naming these specifically in a planning meeting or plan review if they'd genuinely help, rather than assuming they don't exist.
Carer Payment is a completely separate system from the NDIS. It's an income support payment from Services Australia (Centrelink), for people who provide constant care to someone with disability or a medical condition, where that caring role stops them from working full time.
Whether someone is on the NDIS, My Aged Care, or neither has no automatic bearing on Carer Payment eligibility — it's assessed on its own criteria. Payment rates and income test thresholds change and are not stated here — check current figures directly at servicesaustralia.gov.au/carer-payment.
Carer Allowance is different again — it's a fortnightly supplementary payment (not full income support) for people who provide daily care and supervision to someone in the home. A few things are worth knowing:
Again — no dollar figures here on purpose. Confirm current eligibility and rates at servicesaustralia.gov.au/carer-allowance before you plan around a specific amount.
This is the part most family carers never get told about. Carer Gateway is the national, government-funded support service specifically for family and informal carers — regardless of whether the person you care for is on the NDIS, in aged care, or neither.
Contact Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 or at carergateway.gov.au. It exists because the government recognises that carers need their own support — separate from anything in someone else's NDIS plan.
A honest word on burnout: a lot of family carers keep going long past the point they'd tell anyone else to stop. This isn't medical advice, but a two-minute practical self-check can be a useful moment to pause and be honest with yourself — try CarerCompass's Carer Burnout Self-Check. If you're struggling, please also talk to your own GP — not just the person you care for's.
You are allowed to need support in your own right. Looking for it isn't taking anything away from the person you care for.
Last reviewed: August 2026. Payment rates, income test thresholds and eligibility rules for Carer Payment and Carer Allowance change and are not stated in dollar figures on this page for that reason — always verify current amounts and rules directly at servicesaustralia.gov.au before making decisions. NDIS plan inclusions are individually assessed; verify with your planner or the NDIS on 1800 800 110 or ndis.gov.au.
CarerCompass is free and run by a GP in their spare time.
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