NDIS participants deserve to live in clean, safe, and healthy homes — and the people who support them deserve to be paid fairly for the essential work they do. Just as importantly, the organisations that deliver these services deserve to operate sustainably, not at a loss, as many currently are.

Right now, providers across Australia are being forced to turn participants away from domestic cleaning and gardening services under the NDIS, simply because the funding doesn't cover the true cost of delivering a professional service.

Let’s look at the facts (effective 1 July 2025):

🧽 Household Tasks (cleaning): $58.03/hour
🌱 House/Yard Maintenance: $56.98/hour

And let's be clear here, a service rate is not the same as a wage.

⚖️ What’s the Real Cost of Delivering a Service?
Reputable, registered providers are held to high compliance standards and shoulder significant operational costs, including:

• PPE, cleaning/gardening products, tools and supplies
• Staff wages, allowances, superannuation, leave entitlements, and insurance
• Ongoing training, supervision, and support
• Admin staff for scheduling, documentation, and compliance
• Cybersecurity, client record systems, and audit readiness
• Plus, other business operating expenses

This is not a simple wage. It’s a fully packaged, quality-assured service that provides essential support for vulnerable Australians.

Many sole traders may be able to offer lower rates by reducing overheads, but fully compliant providers who train and support staff, maintain quality standards, and protect their workers and clients simply cannot survive on current NDIS pricing.

 
🏠 Why It Matters
For many people with psychosocial disability, cognitive impairments, or mobility issues, these services are not optional. They prevent:

• Respiratory illness, infection, and injury
• Unhygienic, cluttered, or hoarded living conditions
• Decline in mental health due to unsafe environments, and prolonged isolation, all of which can severely impact overall well-being and daily functioning

At Sistability, we support over 100 NDIS participants in the Northern Rivers, NSW. For some, we are the only people who visit each week. We notice self-neglect, or when food has gone off, or when someone is struggling in silence.

This is frontline support work — and it must be funded accordingly.

 
✅ What We’re Asking For
We’re calling on the:

• National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
• Minister for the NDIS
• Federal MPs across Australia

to:

• Increase the base rate for household tasks and yard maintenance by $15/hour to reflect the real cost of service delivery.
• Introduce a tiered funding model, where more complex jobs (such as hoarding, squalor, pest infestation, and other high-risk environments) are funded at a higher level, much like support work is tiered by complexity. A basic clean of a low-risk home is not the same as a deep clean in an environment impacted by extreme neglect, mental health crisis, or public health risks — and pricing should reflect this.
• Acknowledge the essential role these services play in keeping participants safe, dignified, and well in their own homes.
  Ensure funding enables providers to operate sustainably, not at a financial loss, particularly for registered providers committed to quality, compliance, and the well-being of both clients and staff.

✍️ Sign This Petition If You Believe:

• No one should be left living in filth or risk because pricing makes support impossible
• Workers who provide hygiene, safety, and dignity deserve fair pay
• A clean, safe home is a human right, not a luxury
• Providers delivering essential services should not be forced to operate at a loss

This work keeps people safe. It keeps people alive. But unless we fund it properly, it won’t be there.

Add your voice. Help us bring fairness and sustainability to essential household supports under the NDIS.

📢 Started by:
Jade Taylor
CEO & Founder, Sistability
www.sistability.com.au | jade@sistability.com.au