What enteral feeding support covers
Enteral feeding, also called home enteral nutrition, means getting nutrition into your stomach or small bowel through a tube. Support usually includes setting up and running feeds, giving medication through the tube where your plan says so, caring for the stoma site, cleaning equipment, and watching for problems.
The NDIS Commission's skills descriptor covers nasogastric tube feeding, gastrostomy feeding including percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), and jejunostomy feeding.
What the NDIS can fund
The NDIS funds enteral feeding supports when you need them because of your disability. Depending on your needs, that can include:
- Support workers trained to manage your feeds, when you, your family or carers cannot do it
- A registered nurse to help care for your PEG and feeding, and to train and oversee workers
- Equipment such as feeding pumps, tubes, feed bags or bottles, syringes and giving sets
- Enteral formula you need because of your disability, unless the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme funds it
- A dietitian or speech pathologist to assess your needs and write or review your plan
What the health system covers
Inserting a feeding tube is a medical procedure, so the surgery and hospital care around it belong to the health system. So does time limited care after a recent medical or surgical event. If a formula is on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the NDIS will not fund it. Check with your dietitian which applies to you.
A high intensity support
Enteral feeding and management is one of the eight high intensity daily personal activities. Registered providers delivering it are assessed against the NDIS Commission's high intensity module. The module expects:
- You are involved in assessing your needs and writing your enteral feeding plan
- With your consent, your health is reviewed regularly by an appropriately qualified health practitioner
- The plan says how risks, incidents and emergencies are handled, including when to escalate
- The provider has policies, procedures and a training plan for workers
- Every worker has been trained in your needs, your type of feeding and your regime before supporting you
Training for workers
Training must come from an appropriately qualified health practitioner, or a person who meets the Commission's enteral feeding skills descriptor. Workers should understand the type of tube and feed, the equipment and pump, stoma care, positioning, hygiene, and the signs of problems such as a blocked or dislodged tube.
The Commission recommends reviewing a worker's competency every year, and reassessing them before they support you again if they have not done this support for more than three months or your plan has changed. If you also have dysphagia, workers should be trained in dysphagia support too.
Cost and funding
Support worker items have a high intensity price level that applies when a worker needs high intensity skills. For 2026/27 the high intensity price limit for weekday daytime self care is $79.60 an hour, compared with $73.58 at the standard level, in most of Australia. Nursing has its own price limits.
High intensity supports are protected from the October 2026 funding reset, so the 50% and 10% reductions to some budgets do not apply to them.
Questions to ask a provider
- Are you registered for high intensity daily personal activities, including enteral feeding?
- Who trains your workers, and will they be trained on my tube, pump and regime?
- Which health practitioner reviews my plan, and how often?
- What happens if my tube blocks or comes out, and who do workers call?
- If my regular worker is away, will the replacement be trained for me?