NDIS · Free Tool
What does the NDIS fund for nutrition?
A plain-English explainer and self-check for participants, families, support coordinators and SIL teams. Work out which budget dietetics usually sits under, and what to ask for.
Dietetics is a funded NDIS support, but working out where it sits in a plan trips up participants, families and even coordinators. This free explainer, built by our Accredited Practising Dietitians, walks through the budget categories in plain English and gives you the wording to take to your planner or coordinator.
Check how dietetics fits your plan
Plans differ. If a support matters to you, ask for it and explain how it links to your goals, rather than assuming it is not covered.
Built by dietitians who work in NDIS settings.
General guidance only, your plan and goals decide what is reasonable and necessary.
Which budget does dietetics come from?
Dietetics is usually funded from Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living (often written as CB Daily Activity). That budget covers therapy and assessment that builds a participant’s skills and independence, which is exactly what nutrition support does: safer mealtimes, better routines, more independence around food.
Occasionally nutrition-related supports touch Core – Assistance with Daily Life (for example, support-worker time to help prepare meals) or Capacity Building – Improved Health and Wellbeing. The distinction matters, because funding sits in different places and cannot always be moved between them.
What a dietitian can be funded to do
Common NDIS-funded dietetic supports include mealtime assessment and mealtime management plans, nutrition support where a disability affects eating, texture-modified diet advice, support around medication-related appetite and weight changes, capacity building for participants and carers, and training for support workers. Where there is dysphagia or choking risk, a dietitian typically works alongside a speech pathologist.
What is not usually funded
The NDIS does not fund day-to-day food costs, general weight-loss programs, or supports better delivered by the health system, for example acute medical nutrition therapy that Medicare or a hospital covers. The test is whether the support is reasonable and necessary and relates to disability rather than general health. If in doubt, ask, plans differ.
How to ask for it
Bring specific, goal-linked wording to your planning meeting rather than asking for ‘a dietitian’. For example: “I want support to prepare and eat meals more independently” or “Our team needs training to support safer mealtimes.” Goals phrased around independence and capability map cleanly onto Improved Daily Living. The tool above generates wording you can take with you.
Frequently asked questions
Is a dietitian covered by the NDIS?
Yes, dietetics is a funded support, most commonly under Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living. Whether it is funded in a particular plan depends on the participant’s goals and whether the support is considered reasonable and necessary.
Do I need a referral to see an NDIS dietitian?
No referral is needed to book with us. If you are plan-managed or self-managed you can engage us directly. Agency-managed participants need to use an NDIS-registered provider.
What does Improved Daily Living actually mean?
It is the Capacity Building budget that funds therapy and assessment aimed at building skills and independence, rather than paying someone to do a task for you. Dietetics fits here because the goal is capability around food and mealtimes.
Can you train our support workers?
Yes. We deliver nutrition and mental health training for SIL and NDIS teams, covering mealtime support, medication-related appetite changes and recognising early risks. See our SIL training page.
Can you help if the participant has an eating disorder?
Yes, and this needs care. We have a Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician and work alongside the treating team. See eating disorder support or get in touch.
