Published by SESI Care Services · Updated August 2026 · 2-minute summary
Quick answer: Community nursing brings a registered or enrolled nurse to your home for clinical care — wound care, medication management, health monitoring, continence support, chronic disease care and health education. For NDIS participants it is funded when the nursing need relates to your disability, usually under Core – Assistance with Daily Life. For older Victorians it is funded through the Support at Home program, where clinical care such as nursing has no participant contribution. You do not need to go to hospital or a clinic to receive it.
Key takeaways
- Community nursing is clinical care delivered at home by nurses — different from personal care delivered by support workers.
- Typical visits cover wound care, medications, catheter and continence care, chronic condition monitoring and education for you and your carers.
- NDIS participants: funded when the need is disability-related, claimed from your Core budget.
- Older Australians: funded under Support at Home, which replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025; nursing sits in the clinical care category with no contribution to pay.
- Nurses do not replace emergency care — call 000 for an emergency.
- SESI Care Services delivers community nursing across Victoria for NDIS participants and older people at home.
What does a community nurse actually do at home?
A community nurse is a registered nurse (RN) or enrolled nurse (EN) who visits you where you live — your own home, a unit in a retirement village, or supported accommodation. The visit is clinical: the nurse assesses, treats and monitors a health need, and teaches you and the people around you how to manage it between visits.
The common reasons a nurse visits:
| Nursing support | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Wound care | Assessing, cleaning and dressing chronic wounds, pressure injuries, ulcers and post-surgery wounds; watching for infection |
| Medication management | Setting up and checking dose administration aids, giving injections such as insulin, reviewing side effects with your GP |
| Health monitoring | Blood pressure, blood glucose, oxygen levels, weight, hydration — and picking up changes early |
| Continence and catheter care | Continence assessment, catheter changes and care, bowel management, advice on products |
| Chronic disease support | Diabetes, heart and lung conditions, neurological conditions — monitoring, education and coordination with your GP and specialists |
| Stoma care | Appliance changes, skin care and problem-solving |
| Post-hospital care | Picking up clinical care after discharge so you can go home sooner and avoid readmission |
| Health education | Training you, your family and your support workers — for example safe medication handling or recognising warning signs |
SESI’s community nursing service covers medication management, health monitoring, wound care, chronic disease and continence support, and health education for people with physical, neurological, chronic or complex care needs.
How is community nursing different from personal care?
This is the distinction that decides which budget pays and who turns up.
- Personal care is help with daily living — showering, dressing, meals, getting around — delivered by support workers. Under the NDIS this is assistance with personal activities.
- Community nursing is clinical care that requires nursing skills and judgement — dressing a wound, giving an injection, managing a catheter.
A support worker can prompt you to take medication from a Webster-pak; a nurse can administer an injection and adjust a care plan with your GP. Many people need both, and they work best when the same organisation coordinates them. SESI’s nurses work alongside our support workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists so that, for example, a pressure-injury plan is followed by everyone who visits.
Does the NDIS fund community nursing?
Yes, when the nursing need is a result of your disability. The NDIA funds nursing that is “reasonable and necessary” — for example continence and catheter care for someone with a spinal cord injury, or medication administration for someone who cannot manage it because of their disability.
Where it sits in your plan:
- Core – Assistance with Daily Life funds most ongoing nursing delivered at home. Nursing is priced by the nurse’s level (enrolled nurse, registered nurse, clinical nurse) and by time of day, in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.
- Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living can fund nurse-led training of your support workers and carers, such as training in medication handling or complex bowel care.
- Capacity Building – Improved Health and Wellbeing is a different category for things like exercise physiology and dietetics, not nursing.
What the NDIS does not fund is health care that the health system is responsible for — treatment of an acute illness, hospital care, or nursing that any person would need after surgery regardless of disability. The line is set by the NDIS Support Lists and the NDIA’s guidance on health-related supports. If you are unsure which side of the line your need falls on, a support coordinator can check with the NDIA before the service starts.
How does nursing work under Support at Home?
On 1 November 2025 the Aged Care Act 2024 commenced and the Support at Home program replaced Home Care Packages and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. Nursing is one of the services it funds.
Three things older Victorians and their families should know:
- Clinical care has no participant contribution. Support at Home sorts services into clinical care, independence and everyday living. Nursing and allied health are clinical care, fully funded by government. Contributions apply to independence and everyday living services and depend on your means.
- Your budget is quarterly. Funding is allocated to one of eight classification levels and released each quarter, so a nursing visit is planned against that quarter’s budget alongside your other services.
- Access is through My Aged Care. Call 1800 200 422 or visit myagedcare.gov.au to arrange an assessment. If you are already receiving Support at Home, ask your provider to add nursing to your care plan.
If you are waiting for an assessment, or you are not eligible, privately funded nursing at home is available without an assessment. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme continues separately — on 21 August 2026 it was extended to 30 June 2029. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing explains the program in About the Support at Home program.
NDIS or aged care — which system am I in?
| Your situation | System | First step |
|---|---|---|
| Under 65 with a permanent and significant disability | NDIS | Check your plan for Core funding; contact a provider |
| NDIS participant who has turned 65 | You can choose to stay on the NDIS or move to aged care | Talk to your planner before deciding |
| 65 or over (50 or over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), not on the NDIS | Support at Home | Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 |
| Not eligible for either, or waiting | Private | Contact a provider directly |
SESI delivers NDIS disability supports and aged care support, including Support at Home services, across Victoria, so the same nursing team can look after you whichever system pays.
How do I arrange a community nurse in Victoria?
NDIS participants
- Check your plan for Core – Assistance with Daily Life funding. If nursing is named as a stated support, use that line.
- Contact a provider. You, your family, your support coordinator or a hospital discharge planner can refer. A GP letter describing the clinical need helps the nurse plan the first visit.
- Sign a service agreement that names the price limit, the nurse level, visit frequency and cancellation terms.
- The first visit is a nursing assessment and care plan.
Older Australians
- Call My Aged Care for an assessment, or ask your current Support at Home provider to add nursing.
- Choose a provider and agree the care plan.
- Nursing visits are scheduled against your quarterly budget.
Hospital discharge
If you or a family member is in hospital, ask the discharge planner to arrange community nursing before discharge. Getting the first visit booked for the day after you get home is the single most effective way to avoid readmission.
What community nursing does not cover
- Emergencies. Chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe breathing difficulty or a bad fall — call 000.
- 24-hour supervision. Nurses visit on a schedule; they are not on site around the clock.
- Hospital-level treatment such as intensive monitoring.
- Household tasks. Cleaning, laundry and meals are support-worker services — see household tasks.
- Mental health crisis response. Nurses support mental health as part of whole-person care, but acute crisis response is the health system’s role.
Frequently asked questions
Is community nursing covered by the NDIS?
Yes, when the nursing need relates to your disability and is reasonable and necessary. It is usually claimed from Core – Assistance with Daily Life. Health care that the health system is responsible for, such as treatment of an acute illness, is not funded by the NDIS.
Do I pay for nursing under Support at Home?
No. Under the Support at Home program, clinical care including nursing and allied health is fully funded by government. Participant contributions apply only to independence and everyday living services, based on your means.
What is the difference between a community nurse and a support worker?
A community nurse is a registered or enrolled nurse who provides clinical care such as wound dressing, injections and catheter care. A support worker helps with daily living such as showering, meals and getting out, and can prompt medication but does not administer clinical treatment.
How often will a community nurse visit?
It depends on the clinical need. Wound care may need visits several times a week for a period; medication management may be weekly; chronic condition monitoring may be fortnightly or monthly. The frequency is set in your care plan and reviewed as your needs change.
Can a community nurse train my support workers?
Yes. Nurse-led training of support workers and family carers — for example in medication handling or complex bowel care — is common, and for NDIS participants it can be funded under Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living.
How do I get community nursing after leaving hospital?
Ask the hospital discharge planner to arrange it before you leave. NDIS participants can use Core funding; older Australians can use Support at Home or arrange it privately while waiting for an assessment.
Talk to SESI
If you need a nurse at home anywhere in Victoria — for yourself, a family member or a client — tell us what is going on and we will call you back.
Tell us what’s going on: sesi.com.au/referral · Call: 1800 017 374
This guide is general information based on NDIA guidance, the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2026–27, and Department of Health, Disability and Ageing material on Support at Home, current at August 2026. It is not medical advice or advice about your individual plan. In an emergency call 000.
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