If you’re unable to prepare meals and shop for food because of your disability, the NDIS may fund meal preparation and delivery. With lots of options now available, this means that you can enjoy healthy, cooked meals delivered to your home.

I am eligible to receive funding for home-delivered meals?

The NDIA will assess whether it is reasonable and necessary for you to receive home-delivered meals based on your individual situation. For example, if you are a participant who is aged under 18 and living in your family home, it may not be deemed reasonable and necessary for you to receive home-delivered meals because your parents or full-time carers prepare meals for the whole family.

What costs are covered in my plan?

If you receive funding for home-delivered meals, it will cover the cost of preparing the meal and having it delivered to you. It will not cover the cost of the ingredients needed to make the meal because these are an “everyday expense”. In the same way that the NDIS will not cover the cost of groceries.

It is too complex for service providers to calculate the cost of ingredients for all the variations of meals that they provide. Instead, they use a standard formula for each meal that they provide. There is some variation between providers but as a guide, about 70% of the cost of a meal is for the preparation and delivery and 30% is for the ingredients. This means that your NDIS funding may cover around 70% of the total cost of home-delivered meals.

How do I use my NDIS funding for home-delivered meals?

If you would like to have funding for home-delivered meals included in your NDIS plan, you need to request this in your planning meeting or plan review. You will need to provide evidence from an allied health professional and quotes from meal delivery providers so that the NDIA can review your request for funding.  

If the NDIA deem your request as reasonable and necessary this funding will be included in your plan (Preparation and Delivery of Meals, line item 01_022_0120_1_1). You will be provided funding for a specific number of meals within your plan period.

COVID-19 and funding for home-delivered meals

The NDIA recently updated their guidelines on meal preparation.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 and the need for some people with disability to isolate or restrict their interaction with others, the NDIA made some changes to make funding for meal preparation and delivery more flexible so that participants can change arrangements for a short time, without the need for a plan review.

For example, if a participant who usually has a Support Worker help them prepare meals at home or help with grocery shopping, and this can’t happen due to the impact of COVID-19, they may be able to use these funds to pay for meal preparation and delivery support for a limited time.

Case study*

Connor is 21 years old and lives with a flatmate. He has a physical disability that limits his mobility and ability to prepare and cook his own meals. It is unsafe for Connor to prepare his own meals without help from his Support Worker and he can’t drive himself to the shops to pick up groceries. In this scenario, the NDIS may fund the cost of home delivered meals because Connor is unable to cook a meal safety or drive to the shops for ingredients.

*Case study is a representation.

Further information

If you need help to understand how to access funding for meal preparation and delivery our team of Brisbane Support Coordinators are ready to help.