Parents, family members, friends and other people in the community play an important role in all of our lives, including for people with disability.
The NDIS recognises the role these ‘informal supports’ play and how they complement formal, paid supports.
But what exactly are informal supports and why are they important when it comes to the NDIS? Read on to find out.
What are informal supports?
Informal supports refer to the help you receive from people you know. They’re considered ‘informal’ because you don’t pay the person and there’s no formal agreement in place, such as a service agreement.
These supports are often the everyday things that friends and family do for us, and with us, because they care.
Examples of informal supports include:
- The help you get at home from family members, such as with personal care
- Help from your brother or sister to set up a new device or software
- A friend giving you a lift to appointments, school, uni or work
- Support from a community group member to learn new skills.
The NDIS doesn’t replace informal supports, it complements them.
What’s the difference between informal and formal support networks?
Informal supports come from your personal network, like family, friends and neighbours. You don’t pay for these supports and you don’t have a formal agreement in place.
Formal supports are paid services delivered by providers under a service agreement. Examples include:
- Support workers who help with daily tasks or community access
- Allied health professionals, such as occupational therapists or physiotherapists
- Support coordinators who help you connect with and manage your supports
- Specialist disability services, such as supported accommodation.
Telling the NDIA about informal supports.
Providing accurate information about the informal supports you receive is an important part of preparing for your first NDIS Plan meeting and any plan reassessments.
The NDIS considers your current informal and mainstream supports, as well as any recent changes.
Tips for recording informal supports:
- Be clear and detailed about the supports you receive
- Include the person’s name, their relationship to you, the type of help they provide and how often
- Include both daily supports and occasional ones, such as once or twice a month.
Leap in! app.
Record your crew and how they help you with the Leap in! app. The app lets you easily add the people who are important in your life, upload a photo and choose what information they can see to help you reach your goals. Download on the App Store, get it on Google Play or try the web app.
Maintaining good relationships with your informal supports.
Open and honest communication with your informal supporters builds trust and helps you get support that works for everyone.
If a family member provides regular or intensive support, it’s worth raising this at your NDIS Plan meeting. You may be able to secure funding for respite or training to help sustain these relationships.
Informal supports for children.
The NDIS recognises it’s usual for parents and close family to provide most of the care young children need, such as:
- Transport
- Personal care
- Supervision at activities.
The NDIS will not generally fund family members for these supports. However, it may fund additional support if a child’s needs are substantially greater than other children the same age due to disability, or if there are risks to a parent or carer’s wellbeing.
Important. Thriving Kids will begin to roll out from 1 October 2026. This may impact how families access support for some children with disability. Keep up to date on NDIS Changes.
Informal supports for adults.
For adults, informal supports might include:
- A friend taking you to the football
- Emotional support from family
- Help from a neighbour with errands.
The NDIS considers whether it’s reasonable to expect someone in your network to provide a support and whether your informal supporters are aging, unwell or unable to continue helping.
Can you pay family members to provide supports?
The NDIS generally does not fund family members to provide supports, except in exceptional circumstances, such as risk of harm, or religious or cultural reasons.
Important. Personal care and community access supports provided by family members are unlikely to be funded unless all other options have been exhausted. Where this type of support is funded, it must be formally approved in writing.
What to do if your informal supports change.
If your informal supports change, such as someone moving away or no longer being able to help, let the NDIS know. You can fill out a Change of Situation form, contact the NDIS by phone or visit your local NDIA office.
Important. If the proposed NDIS legislative changes are passed, your plan is unlikely to change outside your regular review cycle, unless there is a significant change in your support needs.
Leap in! can help.
Need help managing your NDIS Plan? Reach out to the Leap in! Crew via phone, email or chat on our website.
Originally published 12 March 2021, updated 23 October 2024, 22 July 2025 and 18 August 2026.
