NDIS Section 10 Rules: What Nursing & Wound Care Supports Are Funded in 2025/2026?

In October 2024, the Australian Parliament enacted historic reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Act 2024. Central to these reforms is the creation of Section 10, which for the first time legally codifies a statutory definition of what is—and what is not—an “NDIS support”.

For thousands of self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants across Bundaberg and the Wide Bay Burnett region, Section 10 has sparked widespread anxiety. Families are terrified of making non-compliant purchases, receiving audit penalties, or losing access to vital healthcare assistance. Specifically, questions around community nursing, chronic wound care, consumables, and clinical health supports dominate participant searches.

As a trusted Bundaberg provider led by Linda Miller, Registered Nurse, CLM Community Support provides this authoritative clinical guide explaining exactly what nursing and wound care supports remain fully fundable under NDIS Section 10 rules throughout 2025 and 2026.

Understanding Section 10: The “NDIS Support” Definition

Historically, whether a support could be funded was governed broadly by the “reasonable and necessary” criteria in Section 34 of the NDIS Act. While Section 34 remains in force, Section 10 introduces a strict primary filter: an expense can only be funded using NDIS plan money if it meets the explicit legal definition of an “NDIS support” under the transitional National Disability Insurance Scheme Rules.

The rules establish two clear schedules:

• Schedule 1 (Included Supports): Specific services and items declared to be NDIS supports.
• Schedule 2 (Excluded Supports): Services and items declared NOT to be NDIS supports, which must be funded through mainstream government systems (such as Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, or Queensland Health) or paid privately.

What Nursing Supports ARE Funded Under NDIS Section 10?

The crucial question for participants is: Can I still use my NDIS funding for a nurse to visit my home?

The answer is YES, provided the clinical care falls under the recognized category of Disability-Related Health Supports (DRHS). Under Section 10 transitional rules, the NDIS continues to fund clinical nursing where the health support need is directly attributable to the participant’s functional impairment and is required as part of daily living. These include:

• Complex Wound Management: Assessment, cleansing, and dressing of chronic wounds secondary to impaired mobility, sensory neuropathy, vascular complications of disability, or pressure injuries (e.g. pressure ulcers from wheelchair use).
• Enteral Nutrition & PEG Feeding: Management of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG), PEJ, or nasogastric feeds, tube flushes, stoma site care, and pump administration where dysphagia or neurological disability prevents oral feeding.
• Catheter & Continence Health: Insertion, monitoring, and maintenance of indwelling (IDC) and suprapubic (SPC) catheters, clean intermittent catheterisation (CIC), and complex neurogenic bowel regimes.
• Subcutaneous Injections & Medication Assistance: Administration or supervision of prescribed medications where physical or cognitive impairment prevents self-administration (e.g., insulin, anticoagulants, neurological medications).
• Tracheostomy & Respiratory Care: Airway suctioning, tracheostomy tube maintenance, and ventilator monitoring for participants with severe neuromuscular conditions.
• Registered Nurse Training & Competency Sign-Off: Having an AHPRA Registered Nurse assess, train, and supervise support workers to perform high-intensity daily personal activities safely.

What Nursing Supports Are EXCLUDED Under Section 10?

Section 10 draws a strict constitutional and jurisdictional boundary between disability supports and the mainstream Australian healthcare system. The following healthcare services cannot be claimed against your NDIS plan:

• Acute Medical Care: Treating acute, short-term illnesses, sudden infections (e.g., pneumonia, influenza), fractures, or non-disability medical emergencies (responsibility of Queensland Health / Public Hospitals).
• General Practitioner (GP) Visits & Specialist Consultations: Consultations with doctors or medical specialists (funded via Medicare).
• Standard Pharmaceuticals & PBS Medicines: General prescription drugs, antibiotics, or over-the-counter painkillers (responsibility of the PBS or patient).
• Elective or General Hospital Procedures: In-hospital treatments and post-operative ward care provided directly within public or private hospital facilities.

How Wound Care Consumables Are Funded in 2025/2026

One of the most complex areas under Section 10 involves consumables—dressings, bandages, and medical creams. Under current rules:

If wound dressings are required for an acute, temporary injury (such as a minor kitchen burn or standard post-operative incision that heals in weeks), the dressings are considered mainstream healthcare and cannot be billed to the NDIS. However, if the wound is a chronic pressure injury, diabetic foot ulcer, or neuropathic wound resulting directly from a disability, wound care consumables can be claimed under your NDIS Core – Consumables budget.

Furthermore, older Australians transitioning across aged care or managing chronic wounds can also access the Australian Government’s Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme (CWCS). CLM Community Support is an accredited CWCS provider, ensuring eligible Bundaberg participants receive subsidised, advanced clinical dressings without financial hardship.

Audit Proofing Your Plan: 4 Clinical Safeguards for Participants

To ensure self-managed and plan-managed participants remain 100% compliant and protected against NDIA funding clawbacks under Section 10, Linda Miller RN recommends four essential safeguards:

1. Obtain a Formal Disability-Related Health Support Assessment: Have an AHPRA Registered Nurse document that the clinical need arises directly from your diagnosed permanent disability.
2. Maintain a Written Nursing Care Plan: Ensure a current, signed clinical care plan detailing the frequency, scope, and rationale of community nursing visits is kept on file.
3. Use Correct NDIS Support Catalogue Line Items: Clinical nursing visits must be claimed under designated Disability-Related Health Supports line items (e.g., 01_104_0114_1_1 – Delivery Of Health Therapy/Nursing Supports), not generic community participation items.
4. Request Clinical Letters of Support Prior to Plan Reviews: When your NDIS plan comes up for reassessment, submit formal clinical evidence from CLM Community Support demonstrating that community nursing prevents hospitalisation and maintains daily functional independence.

Request a Funded Disability Health Support Assessment

Are you unsure whether your current in-home nursing, wound management, or clinical health supports comply with the NDIS Section 10 rules? Don’t leave your funding to chance.

Speak with Linda Miller RN and the CLM clinical team on 0478 077 538 or email [email protected]. We provide comprehensive in-home clinical assessments and expert NDIS nursing across Bundaberg, Bargara, Childers, Gin Gin, Burnett Heads, and Moore Park Beach.

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