Does the NDIS or a Home Care Package cover lawn mowing?

Yes — both the NDIS and the Support at Home program (which replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025) can fund lawn mowing and general garden upkeep, as long as it's "reasonable and necessary" for your situation rather than general home improvement. The catch is that neither scheme funds gardening automatically: it has to be specifically included in your plan or care budget, tied to a genuine need, and claimed the right way. Here's how each scheme actually treats it, what it costs in 2026, and how to get Mowing Magic paid under either one.

NDIS vs Support at Home: the quick comparison

The two schemes fund gardening for different reasons and through different mechanisms. Broadly:

	NDIS	Support at Home
Who it's for	People under 65 with a permanent, significant disability	Older Australians assessed as needing help to stay at home
Budget category	Core Supports — Assistance with Daily Life	Everyday Living services
Test applied	"Reasonable and necessary" and disability-related	Assessed need, set at your My Aged Care assessment
Cost to you	Fully funded if approved — no co-contribution	Income-tested co-contribution of 17.5%–80% of the service cost
2026–27 price cap	$56.98/hr standard areas (higher regionally)	Set by your provider within program pricing rules

How the NDIS funds lawn mowing

Garden maintenance sits under Core Supports, in the Assistance with Daily Life category, and it isn't an automatic inclusion — it has to be reasonable and necessary for you specifically. In practice, that generally means your disability stops you doing the mowing, weeding or hedge trimming yourself, and there's no one else in the household who could reasonably be expected to do it instead. An overgrown yard that creates a genuine safety issue — a trip hazard on an access path, or blocked sightlines to a driveway, for example — strengthens the case further.

What's not covered is anything cosmetic: new garden beds, ornamental planting, or a landscaping makeover aren't funded, because they aren't tied to a disability support need. The NDIS also only pays for labour — materials like mulch, fertiliser, potting mix or replacement plants come out of your own pocket, even on a job the NDIS is otherwise funding.

Pricing is set annually in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. For 2026–27, house and yard maintenance is capped at $56.98 an hour in standard (metro and major regional) areas, rising to $79.77 in regional (MMM 6) areas and $85.47 in very remote (MMM 7) areas — those higher rates cover providers' extra travel time in areas with fewer services available. If you're self-managed, you can agree to pay a provider more than the cap out of your own funds; plan-managed and NDIA-managed (agency-managed) claims are limited to it.

How Support at Home funds gardening

Home Care Packages were replaced by the Support at Home program on 1 November 2025, and gardening carried straight over as one of the everyday living services, alongside domestic assistance and meal prep. Funding is released in quarterly budgets (July, October, January and April), and — unlike NDIS Core Supports — everyday living services aren't fully subsidised. Services Australia runs an income and assets assessment, similar to the Age Pension means test, and sets your co-contribution rate on a sliding scale from 17.5% up to 80% of the service cost. Full pensioners generally sit at the low end of that range; self-funded retirees without a concession card sit at the top.

As with the NDIS, gardening has to be something the My Aged Care assessor has determined you actually need — if there's a partner or adult child in the household able to mow the lawn, an assessor may decide it isn't required, even if nobody in the house particularly wants to do it.

Getting Mowing Magic paid, whichever scheme you're on

You don't need an NDIS-registered provider to use a local mowing business — that restriction only applies if your plan is NDIA-managed (run entirely by the agency). If you're self-managed, you pay the invoice yourself and claim it back through the NDIS portal; if you're plan-managed, your plan manager pays the invoice directly on your behalf. Support at Home works the same way through your chosen provider or plan manager. Either way, three things make the process smooth:

• An ABN on the invoice — any registered business, including ours, can provide this.
• Hours and an hourly rate, not a flat job price — the NDIS in particular requires invoices broken down by hours worked rather than a single lump sum.
• The service written into your plan or care budget first — talk to your support coordinator, plan manager or My Aged Care case manager before the first mow, so the spend is pre-approved rather than a surprise at claim time.

We're happy to provide the itemised, hourly invoices that self-managed and plan-managed NDIS and Support at Home participants need — just let us know when you book, and we'll set the paperwork up correctly from the first visit.

What it costs if you're paying privately, or making up the gap

Even with funding approved, it's worth knowing the going rate — the NDIS price cap and your Support at Home co-contribution are both based on an hourly figure, and a regular mowing service is often quoted per visit instead. As of mid-2026, expect $75–$120 a visit for a standard suburban lawn from an established local operator, or around $100 an hour for hourly-quoted work — noticeably above the $56.98 NDIS standard-area cap, which is one reason self-managed participants sometimes top up the invoice themselves for a preferred local provider rather than switching to whoever prices exactly at the cap. Our full lawn mowing cost guide breaks down what changes the price, and our Melbourne & Mornington Peninsula pricing guide covers rates area by area.

What to do before your first funded mow

1. Confirm gardening is actually included in your NDIS plan or Support at Home budget — if it isn't yet, raise it with your planner, support coordinator or My Aged Care assessor, explaining why the yard is a safety or independence issue for you.
2. Decide how you're managed (self, plan, or agency) — this determines whether you can pick your own provider.
3. Get a quote and confirm it can be itemised by hours and rate, with an ABN on the invoice.
4. Book a regular schedule rather than one-off visits where possible — it keeps the yard from becoming an overgrown, higher-cost job, and gives you a predictable, recurring line item to plan your budget around.

Frequently asked questions

Does the NDIS cover lawn mowing?

Yes, where it's reasonable and necessary — your disability stops you mowing or maintaining the yard yourself, nobody else in the household can reasonably do it, and an overgrown or unsafe yard would affect your health, safety or independence. It's funded through Core Supports under Assistance with Daily Life, and purely cosmetic gardening isn't included.

Does a Home Care Package cover gardening?

Home Care Packages were replaced by the Support at Home program on 1 November 2025, and gardening is funded the same way it always was: as an everyday living service, alongside domestic assistance. It comes out of your quarterly service budget and carries an income-tested co-contribution, unlike clinical supports.

Do I need an NDIS-registered provider for lawn mowing?

Not if you're self-managed or plan-managed — you can hire any provider with an ABN, registered or not, including a local mowing business. Only NDIA-managed (agency-managed) participants are restricted to NDIS-registered providers.

How much does NDIS pay for garden maintenance per hour?

Under the 2026–27 NDIS Pricing Arrangements, house and yard maintenance is capped at $56.98 an hour in standard areas, rising to $79.77 in regional (MMM 6) areas and $85.47 in very remote (MMM 7) areas. Self-managed participants can agree to pay above the cap out of pocket, but plan- and agency-managed claims are limited to it.

Can I choose my own gardener with NDIS or Support at Home funding?

Yes, if you're self-managed or plan-managed under either scheme, you can choose any provider you like — there's no requirement to use an agency-appointed gardener. You'll need the service written into your plan or care budget, and an invoice that itemises hours and rate rather than a flat job price. Our regular mowing service can supply that from the first visit.