One of the most common questions families ask when their loved one’s needs become more complex: do we need community nursing, or is a support worker enough? Here’s the practical answer.
What personal care covers
Personal care is delivered by support workers — showering, dressing, grooming, continence support, medication prompting, basic mobility. Workers complete Code of Conduct training, manual handling, and infection control. For most participants, personal care is the right level of support.
What community nursing adds
Community nursing is delivered by registered nurses (AHPRA-registered) for clinical tasks that require nursing assessment and judgment:
- Wound assessment and complex dressing changes.
- Continence assessment.
- Medication review and oversight (not just prompting).
- Diabetes management.
- Post-discharge clinical handovers.
- Clinical supervision of high-intensity support workers.
When you need both
For participants with complex needs in our SIL homes, we often blend the two — community nursing for clinical oversight, support workers for the bulk of daily care. The nurse visits weekly or fortnightly; workers are there daily.
How they’re funded
Community Nursing Care has its own NDIS line item (Class 0114). Personal care comes under Daily Activities (Class 0107). They’re separate budgets in your plan.
How Carevally delivers both
Carevally is one of a small number of NDIS providers in Melbourne registered for both Personal Care (0107) and Community Nursing Care (0114). That means we can deliver a fully integrated package without having to outsource the clinical side. Get in touch to talk through what you need.
