Building Skills for a More Independent Life
Improved daily living skills – NDIS funding helps you develop the abilities you need to manage everyday life more independently. Whether it’s learning to cook, managing your routine, or building confidence in the community, this support is about growing your capability.
At Mambourin, we understand that independence looks different for everyone. Our life skills programs work with you to build the specific skills that matter for your goals and your life.
What Are Improved Daily Living Skills?
Understanding the Category
Improved Daily Living sits within the Capacity Building part of your NDIS plan. It’s different from Core Supports that help with tasks you need right now. Instead, this funding builds your skills so you can do more for yourself over time.
Think of it this way: Core Supports might fund a support worker to help you cook dinner. Improved Daily Living funds training so you can learn to cook independently.
Who Can Access This Support?
Improved daily living skills – NDIS support is available to NDIS participants of all ages when it aligns with their plan goals.
For children under 7, it’s often called Early Childhood Intervention and focuses on developmental skills.
For people over 7, it covers a wide range of skill-building activities, therapy, and training.
What Does the Improved Daily Living Fund Do?
Therapy and Professional Support
This category funds a broad range of therapeutic services:
- Occupational therapy helps you develop skills for daily tasks like cooking, cleaning, managing money, or using public transport. OTs work on the practical abilities that support independent living.
- Physiotherapy improves your physical function, mobility, and strength. This might include learning to move safely, managing pain, or building fitness for daily activities.
- Speech pathology supports communication skills, social interaction, and safe eating and drinking. Speech therapists help you express yourself and connect with others.
- Psychology provides support for mental health, behaviour, and emotional well-being. Psychologists help you develop coping strategies and manage challenges.
- Exercise physiology builds strength, fitness, and physical capacity. Exercise physiologists create programs that help you stay active and healthy.
- Dietetics supports healthy eating, nutrition, and managing food-related health conditions. Dietitians help you make good choices about food and mealtimes.
- Other professionals can include social workers, art therapists, music therapists, audiologists, podiatrists, and more – all focused on building your skills.
Assessments and Reports
Before starting therapy or training, you often need an assessment. Improved Daily Living funds these assessments, which might include:
- Functional capacity assessments
- Communication assessments
- Home safety evaluations
- Assistive technology assessments
- Development assessments for children
These reports identify what support you need and justify funding in your plan.
Skill Development and Training
Beyond therapy, this funding covers practical skill-building:
- Life skills training might include learning to use public transport, managing appointments, or budgeting and money management.
- Daily routines could involve developing morning routines, meal preparation skills, or household management.
- Communication skills help you interact with others, make friends, or participate in groups.
- Community participation skills build your confidence to engage in activities, volunteer, or access community spaces.
At Mambourin, our individual support programs can incorporate this skill-building into your everyday activities.
Training for Support People
Your family, carers, or support workers can also receive training under this category. This might include:
- How to support you with therapy exercises at home
- Safe manual handling techniques
- Communication strategies
- Behaviour support approaches
- Understanding your specific needs
This ensures the people around you can support your skill development effectively.
NDIS Improved Daily Living Skills Code
Understanding the Support Item Numbers
The improved daily living skills NDIS code appears on invoices and in your plan as line items in the 15_xxx series.
Common support item codes include:
- 15_037_0117_1_3 – Skill Development and Training (including public transport training)
- 15_617_0128_1_3 – Occupational Therapy assessment, therapy or training
- 15_055_0128_1_3 – Physiotherapy assessment, therapy or training
- 15_622_0128_1_3 – Speech Pathology assessment, therapy or training
- 15_054_0128_1_3 – Psychology assessment, therapy or training
- 15_200_0128_1_3 – Exercise Physiology assessment, therapy or training
- 15_062_0128_3_3 – Dietitian assessment, therapy or training
- 15_038_0117_1_3 – Training for Carers/Parents
These codes help providers invoice correctly and ensure you’re charged the right rates set by the NDIS.
How It Appears in Your Plan
In your NDIS plan, this category might be called:
- “Improved Daily Living” (older plans)
- “CB Daily Activity” (in the myplace portal)
- “Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living” (full name)
These all refer to the same funding. Don’t be confused if you see different names – they mean the same thing.
Improved Daily Living Skills NDIS Examples
Real-Life Skill Building
Here are practical NDIS improved daily living skills examples that participants work on:
Daily Living Examples
- Meal preparation: Learning to plan meals, shop for ingredients, follow recipes, and cook safely. This builds nutrition knowledge and practical cooking skills.
- Personal care routines: Developing morning and evening routines for showering, dressing, grooming, and hygiene that you can manage independently.
- Household management: Building skills in cleaning, laundry, organising your space, and maintaining a safe, comfortable home.
- Money management: Learning to budget, use banking apps, understand bills, and make purchasing decisions independently.
- Time management: Developing systems to manage appointments, remember tasks, and organise your day effectively.
Community Skills Examples
- Using public transport: Learning routes, reading timetables, managing myki or other transport cards, and travelling independently.
- Social skills: Building confidence in conversations, making friends, understanding social cues, and participating in group activities.
- Community access: Developing skills to use shops, libraries, recreation centres, and other community spaces confidently.
- Problem-solving: Learning to handle unexpected situations, ask for help when needed, and make decisions independently.
Our community choices programs incorporate many of these skills naturally through participation in activities.
Health and Wellbeing Examples
- Physical fitness: Building strength, balance, and endurance through structured exercise programs tailored to your abilities.
- Managing health conditions: Learning to manage medication, follow treatment plans, recognise symptoms, and communicate with health professionals.
- Nutrition skills: Understanding healthy eating, reading food labels, managing special dietary needs, and making nutritious choices.
- Emotional regulation: Developing strategies to manage stress, anxiety, anger, or other emotions in healthy ways.
How Improved Daily Living Works with Your Goals
Connecting Skills to Your Plan
Every service funded under Improved Daily Living must connect to goals in your NDIS plan. This ensures the support is reasonable and necessary for you.
- Example 1: If your goal is “to live more independently,” occupational therapy teaching cooking and cleaning skills clearly supports this goal.
- Example 2: If your goal is “to make friends and socialise,” speech therapy working on conversation skills or social worker support with social skills aligns perfectly.
- Example 3: If your goal is “to get a job,” skill training in using public transport, managing time, and communicating professionally all connect to employment readiness.
Mambourin’s work readiness programs build exactly these types of employment-related skills.
Building Towards Independence
The key principle behind Improved Daily Living is that it builds capacity. You’re not just receiving help – you’re learning to do things yourself.
This might mean:
- Starting with full support and gradually reducing it as you learn
- By breaking complex tasks into smaller steps, you can master practising skills repeatedly until they become routine
- Building confidence along with competence
Progress isn’t always linear. Some skills take longer to develop, and that’s completely okay. The funding supports this learning journey.
Funding Flexibility and Limitations
What You Can Use It For
Within your Improved Daily Living budget, you usually have flexibility to use funding across different types of therapy and training.
If you have $10,000 for Improved Daily Living in a PACE plan (the new NDIS system), you can generally use this across any relevant therapies or training. You might use it all on one type of therapy or split it between several – as long as services support your goals.
This flexibility lets you adjust support as your needs change without needing a plan review.
When Funding Is Stated
Some plans have “stated supports” in the Improved Daily Living category. This means funding is allocated for specific services.
For example, your plan might say “$5,000 for psychology to manage anxiety.” In this case, you can only use that funding for psychology, not for other therapies.
Check your plan carefully or ask your support coordinator if you’re unsure whether your funding is flexible or stated.
What It Doesn’t Cover
Improved Daily Living doesn’t fund:
- Equipment purchases – these come from Capital Supports (though Improved Daily Living can fund the assessment recommending equipment)
- Home modifications – these are Capital Supports (though assessments are covered)
- Ongoing support work – this comes from Core Supports
- Activities purely for recreation – these are Core Supports unless they have a clear skill-building component
Early Intervention for Children
Support for Young Children
For children under 7, Improved Daily Living funding often focuses on early childhood intervention.
This might include:
- Developmental support helps your child reach milestones in movement, communication, social skills, and independence.
- Play-based therapy uses play as the natural way children learn and develop skills.
- Parent training gives you strategies and techniques to support your child’s development in everyday moments.
- School readiness: preparing your child with the skills needed for kindergarten or school.
Early intervention can make a significant difference. The earlier children receive support, the better the outcomes often are.
Transition Support for School Leavers
For young people leaving school, Improved Daily Living can fund skill development for adult life.
Mambourin’s School Leaver Employment Support (SLES) helps young people develop work-related skills while building broader independence skills through the NDIS.
Group-Based Services
Learning with Others
Some Improved Daily Living services work well in group settings. Groups can be:
- More affordable (costs are shared)
- Socially engaging
- Motivating through peer learning
- Great for practising social skills
Examples include:
- Group therapy sessions for physiotherapy, exercise programs, or social skills
- Skill-building workshops for cooking, money management, or community access
- Supported activities that combine participation with skill development
At Mambourin, many of our social and interest choices incorporate skill-building alongside enjoyment and social connection.
How to Access Improved Daily Living Supports
Getting Started
- Check your plan: Look at your NDIS plan to see if you have Capacity Building funding for Improved Daily Living (or CB Daily Activity).
- Identify your goals: Think about what skills you want to develop and how they connect to your plan’s goals.
- Find the right provider: Look for therapists or trainers who specialise in the skills you want to build. Mambourin offers comprehensive NDIS support across many skill areas.
- Discuss your needs: Talk with providers about what you want to achieve and how they can help.
- Set up services: Once you’ve chosen a provider, arrange regular sessions and start building your skills.
Working with Your Support Coordinator
If you have a support coordinator, they can:
- Help you understand your Improved Daily Living funding
- Connect you with suitable providers
- Ensure services align with your plan goals
- Track your progress and prepare for plan reviews
If You Don’t Have This Funding Yet
If your current plan doesn’t include Improved Daily Living funding, but you need skill-building support:
- Talk to your support coordinator or LAC about a plan review
- Explain what skills you want to develop and why
- Connect these to your goals
- Gather evidence (like reports from therapists or support workers) showing this need
Making the Most of Your Funding
Tips for Effective Skill Building
- Be consistent – Regular practice helps skills stick. Weekly sessions work better than monthly ones for most skill development.
- Set specific goals – “Learn to cook” is vague. “Learn to cook three simple meals independently” is specific and measurable.
- Practice between sessions – The real learning happens when you use skills in everyday life, not just during therapy.
- Communicate openly – Tell your therapist or trainer what’s working and what’s not. Good providers adjust their approach based on your feedback.
- Celebrate progress – Acknowledge every step forward, even small ones. Skill development takes time.
Tracking Your Progress
Keep track of:
- What skills are you working on
- Progress you’ve made
- Challenges you’re experiencing
- How funding is being used
This information helps with plan reviews and ensures you’re getting value from your supports.
Common Questions About Improved Daily Living
Can I use this funding for home visits?
Yes, absolutely. Many therapists and trainers will come to your home, which can be ideal for learning practical living skills in your own environment.
How long can I access therapy?
As long as it supports your goals and you have funding available. Some people need short-term intensive support, others benefit from ongoing therapy over the years.
Can family members receive training?
Yes, training for carers and family members is specifically included in this category when it supports your skill development.
Do I need to see the same therapist?
Not necessarily. You can change providers if the current support isn’t working well. However, consistency often helps with skill building.
Can I use this for group activities?
Yes, when activities have a clear skill-building component and align with your plan’s goals.
How Mambourin Supports Skill Development
At Mambourin, we’ve been supporting people to build independence skills for over 50 years. Our approach focuses on what you want to achieve and works with you to get there.
We offer skill-building support across:
- Life skills development – cooking, cleaning, money management, and daily routines
- Community participation – building confidence to access and engage in your community
- Social connections – developing friendships and social skills
- Work readiness – preparing for employment
- Recreation and leisure – exploring hobbies and interests
Our team works alongside you, focusing on your strengths and supporting you to develop new capabilities at your own pace.
Your Skills, Your Independence
NDIS life skills funding through Improved Daily Living is about more than just learning tasks. It’s about building confidence, independence, and the ability to live the life you want.
Whether you’re working on basic daily tasks or developing complex skills for employment, this support is designed to help you grow your capability.
The journey to independence isn’t about doing everything alone – it’s about having the skills and confidence to make choices about your life and access support when you need it.
If you’d like to discuss how Mambourin can support your skill development, our team is here to help.
Your goals matter. Let’s work together to build the skills that will help you achieve them.
Getting Started
Ready to start building your independence skills?
Contact Mambourin:
- Phone: 9731 9200
- Email: hello@mambourin.org
Our friendly team can discuss your goals, explain how NDIS improved daily living skills support works, and help you access the right services.
We’re here to support you every step of the way.