24 Hour Continuous Support

24-hour support costs vary based on the level of care required, staffing arrangements (awake vs sleepover), and your specific needs. Costs are covered by your NDIS plan funding under High Intensity Daily Personal Activities. The NDIS pricing arrangements set maximum rates, and our coordinators can help you understand if your current plan funding is adequate or if a plan review may be needed to access appropriate 24-hour support.

Awake overnight support means a worker is awake and actively monitoring you throughout the night, appropriate for participants requiring frequent interventions, repositioning, or constant supervision. Sleepover support means a worker sleeps at your home and is available to assist if needed during the night, suitable for participants who generally sleep well but need someone on-site for emergency response or occasional assistance. The choice depends on your support needs and is funded at different rates in your NDIS plan.

We aim for maximum consistency by assigning a small, regular team of workers to your 24-hour support. Typically, you'll have 3-5 regular workers who rotate through shifts, allowing them to know your routines, preferences, and needs thoroughly. This provides continuity while ensuring adequate coverage for leave, sick days, and schedule variations. You'll meet all team members during the setup phase.

Support workers can assist with many health-related tasks, including medication prompting, monitoring for health changes, following care plans developed by health professionals, and contacting medical help when needed. However, clinical tasks like medication administration, wound care, and medical procedures require our registered nurses. We often provide combined support where nurses visit for clinical care while support workers provide 24-hour assistance with daily living.

Shift handovers are carefully managed to ensure continuity. Workers arriving and departing overlap by 15-30 minutes for a detailed handover, including verbal communication about your day/night, any incidents or changes, medication schedule updates, and upcoming appointments or activities. All information is also documented in communication books and electronic care management systems.

Absolutely. Even with 24-hour support, you maintain your privacy and dignity. Support workers respect your personal space, provide privacy during personal care, knock before entering rooms, give you time alone when safe to do so, and only intervene when you need or request assistance. The goal is to provide necessary support while maintaining your independence and privacy as much as possible.

If you require hospitalization, your support worker can accompany you to the hospital, provide information to medical staff about your usual care and support needs, stay with you if appropriate and desired, and assist with the transition back home. We coordinate with hospital staff to ensure continuity of care. Some participants maintain reduced support hours during hospitalization to assist with discharge planning.

No, 24-hour support can benefit participants regardless of living arrangements. It's common for participants living with family to have 24-hour support, giving family members respite while ensuring the participant's needs are met. Some participants in shared accommodation also receive 24-hour support. The service is based on your support needs, not your living situation.

Setting up 24-hour support requires careful planning, including detailed assessment, staff recruitment and matching, care plan development, risk assessment and safety planning, and team training. Typically, this takes 2-4 weeks from initial contact. For urgent situations or hospital discharge, we can sometimes arrange interim support more quickly while permanent arrangements are finalized. Complex care setups may take longer to ensure everything is properly in place.

Support levels can be adjusted as your needs change. If you've built skills and independence through therapy or other interventions, we can transition to reduced hours or different support arrangements. Changes should be discussed with your support coordinator, healthcare team, and NDIS planner to ensure your plan funding reflects your current needs and any support reduction is done safely