NDIS cleaning and gardening: check the task, funding and quote

Making the NDIS Work for You: Gardening, Cleaning, and Home Maintenance

By Plan Partners · Originally published 23 May 2021

Deeper review: 6 October 2026. The deeper review adds article-specific decisions and audience guidance. Historical passages and their adjacent corrections remain preserved.

Turn a household task list into a usable quote

Start with the tasks your disability makes difficult, then describe the help you need with each one. “Clean the bathroom every fortnight” is clearer than “home maintenance”. Keep ordinary repairs and property improvements on a separate list; a provider calling work NDIS maintenance does not approve it. Read the official guidance

Ask which tasks fit one visit, who supplies equipment, what happens to green waste and which proposed costs are private. Agree how the provider will tell you if the job is larger than expected. A clear task description helps prevent a routine visit becoming an open-ended bill.

Include the frequency of the job and what you can do yourself when asking for a quote.

Original article and dated context

This blog was published by Plan Partners, a leading Australian provider of NDIS Plan Management and Support Coordination. This is the third of their ongoing series.

For many people, the phrase “cleanliness is next to godliness” is a motto they live their life by. But for some people with a disability, cleaning, gardening or completing household tasks can be extremely difficult – and in some cases, impossible.

We often get questions from NDIS participants who want to know if they can use their funds to hire a gardener, cleaner or handyman. What you can or can’t fund depends on your particular situation and what’s in your NDIS plan, so there’s no single answer to this question.

That said, there are some basic things to keep in mind, and some handy hints that can make the decision as easy as possible for you. Here's our guide to NDIS Home Maintenance.

Does the NDIS fund gardening, cleaning and home maintenance?

A female cleaner in a blue shirt with yellow gloves cleaning a window with a white towel, while smiling at the camera.

In short, yes – the NDIS can provide funding for support with gardening, cleaning services and home maintenance. But it’s important to point out that it will only fund these supports if they’re reasonable and necessary and directly related to your disability.

If you’re unable to perform a task, like completing home repairs or mowing the lawn, because your disability makes it impossible, then the NDIS can fund it. If a person without a disability would have to hire a specialist to perform the job, such as hiring an electrician to rewire a socket, it won’t be covered by the NDIS.

[Clickability update, September 2026: Disability-related household assistance may fit the support rules and your plan, but ordinary home repairs, maintenance and improvements are excluded. The “would someone else hire a specialist?” test is not the complete current funding test. Check current excluded costs.]

Use this chart to help you work out if you can use your NDIS funds to help pay for a gardener, cleaner or even a handyman to help with household tasks:

Infographic text: TASK > Does your disability stop you from doing this? > Yes > Would a person without a disability have to hire someone? > No > The NDIS can fund this support.&quo; AND TASK > Does your disability stop you from doing this? > Yes >; Would a person without a disability have to hire someone? > Yes > The NDIS won't fund this support.; OR TASK > Does your disability stop you from doing this? > No > The NDIS won't fund this support.

Original checklist or chart explained

The historical chart asks whether disability stops the person doing the task, then whether a person without disability would hire someone for it. It routes a yes to the first and no to the second towards funding, and other answers away from funding. This is a simplified historical diagram, not the complete current eligibility test. Ordinary property repairs and maintenance remain excluded; check the current support rules and actual plan before purchasing assistance.

Gardening, cleaning and home maintenance in your NDIS plan

The NDIS includes support with gardening maintenance, cleaning and home maintenance under the support category Assistance with Daily Living in your NDIS plan.

If you have budget allocated to this category in your NDIS plan, you can use it for support, provided you meet the criteria outlined in the above section. It’s also worth noting that, as Assistance with Daily Living is a ‘core support’, you can use this budget in other core support categories (Transport, Consumables and Assistance with Social & Community Participation) as well.

[Clickability update, September 2026: Core funding is not universally transferable. Check stated supports, restricted categories and funding availability in your actual plan before reallocating spending. Use the current budget guidance.]

For more details on specific services relating to home maintenance, we've created these helpful guides that you may want to look at:

What if they are not registered with the NDIS?

Because a lot of cleaners, gardeners and handymen are small businesses, the majority are likely not to be registered with the NDIS. They may not be aware of the NDIS, or haven’t gone through the process of registering with the NDIS.

However, you can still access them with your NDIS funds – provided your NDIS funds are plan or self-managed.

Things to take into account when hiring a gardener, cleaner or handyman

Set up a service agreement – As with any service provider you engage, it’s always a good idea to establish a service agreement with a gardener, cleaner or handyman. This is a simple written agreement that states how and when your services will be delivered, and will help protect you from any misunderstandings about the services being provided.
Agree upon a price – The NDIS uses an hourly-rate system for these services, so you and your service provider will need to agree on how much this is prior to starting the job. Also make sure they invoice you correctly. Keep in mind the NDIS won’t pay for any amounts outside of the hourly rate, so any incidental costs will need to be built into this. If they’re not, be aware that you may have to cover them out of your own pocket.

Here are our top tips for NDIS home maintenance:

The NDIS can help pay for support with gardening services, house cleaning and home maintenance, but only if:
1. your disability is preventing you from doing it yourself; and
2. most people wouldn’t require a specialist to complete it
Most gardeners and cleaners are likely to be unregistered with the NDIS, so you’ll need to either have Plan Management or self-manage your NDIS funds to access them.
Gardeners and cleaners must charge at an hourly rate, so be sure to agree on this first.
If there are any additional costs, they can’t add these to their NDIS invoice. They’ll either need to build them into their hourly rate or you’ll have to cover them yourself.
[Clickability update, September 2026: Do not bundle ordinary products or excluded costs into an hourly rate to make them claimable. Any separately claimable charge must meet the current item and pricing rules, agreement and plan; ordinary expenses remain separate. Check effective pricing arrangements.]
Set up a service agreement with them to ensure you’re not caught out!
To ensure their invoices comply to the NDIS rules and regulations, point out our handy guide to your gardener, cleaner or handyman.

Compare the complete household job and quote

Compare the whole visit, not just an hourly rate

Consider an illustrative quote of two hours at $55, compared with three hours at $50. The totals are $110 and $150 before any permitted extras. The lower hourly rate is not the lower visit cost. Ask what each visit includes and how often it is needed; this example does not establish funding or imply either provider is better.

If you help arrange a service, ask the participant which areas matter most, when workers can enter and how they want unfinished tasks handled. Avoid promising that every room or the entire garden will be completed within a short booking.

Keep a change in tasks separate from a funding decision

Stop and discuss an unexpected repair, specialist trade job or additional materials before doing the work. Explain the proposed price and who is responsible for paying it. Do not absorb an excluded purchase into a higher support rate to make it appear claimable. Use the actual support item and applicable current limit for funded assistance. Read the official guidance

Record agreed frequency, access arrangements and how either party can change the booking. Revisit the schedule if tasks or available funding change rather than continuing on the strength of an old quote.

Questions readers ask

Does the diagram approve a home repair if I cannot do it myself?

No. The historical diagram is simplified; ordinary home repairs and maintenance are excluded under current support rules. Official guidance

Can ordinary cleaning products be hidden in the hourly support charge?

No. An excluded expense does not become eligible by being bundled or relabelled. Official guidance

Can I assume all Core funding can pay for household assistance?

No. Check the flexible or stated wording, available funding and support rules in your actual plan; a budget label alone is not permission. Official guidance

Find cleaning support for the tasks you need help with

Tell Clickability the household assistance and location you need. Compare cleaner profiles and reviews, then confirm tasks, rates and any privately paid costs.

Find cleaning providers for my needs · Browse cleaning providers