Finding and keeping a job is the NDIS support category built around work. Maybe you want to get a job, change jobs or keep the one you have. If so, this is a part of your NDIS plan that can pay for help. This guide explains what finding and keeping a job NDIS funding covers and which support items carry employment in their names. It also shows how to get it into your plan, and how to show your progress at plan reassessment.
For this guide we read the NDIA’s Guide to employment, its pages on capacity building and employment goals, and the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27. Every claim below comes from those primary sources, and we link the main ones in the check-it-yourself section.
Finding and keeping a job (NDIS): quick summary
- “Finding and keeping a job” is a support category in your NDIS capacity building budget.
- The NDIA describes it as time-limited support for all working-age participants, to help you find a job and keep a job.
- It can pay for building work skills, a career plan, work experience, and help moving into work or further education.
- NDIS support at work can include on-the-job coaching, training and mentoring, and personal care at work, such as help with a meal.
- When including employment funding in your plan, your planner needs to know where and when you work. They also need to know what help you need beyond what your employer gives, and any adjustments.
- At your plan reassessment, a report from your employment support provider shows your progress and the plan ahead.
- Outside the NDIS, the NDIA now points jobseekers to Inclusive Employment Australia and the Employment Assistance Fund.
What NDIS “Finding and keeping a job” funding is
Capacity building supports are one of 4 support budgets in an NDIS plan. According to the NDIA, this budget can have funding in up to 9 support categories, and Finding and keeping a job is one of them. Capacity building supports, in the NDIA’s words, “build your skills to do things for yourself and work towards your goals”.
The NDIA describes Finding and keeping a job as “time-limited support for all working aged participants to help you find a job and keep a job”. Its examples are building work skills, developing a career plan, work experience, and support with moving into work or further education. In addition, the NDIA’s guide for young participants says employment supports are available to “any working age participant with an employment goal”.
This article focuses on that one category. For an overview of every kind of work support, including supported employment and help for school leavers, see our guide to NDIS employment supports.
What the NDIS can fund to help you work
The NDIA’s Guide to employment, current as of 18 August 2026, groups the supports it can fund into a few areas.
| Area | What the NDIA says it can include |
|---|---|
| Discovering what you are good at | Finding out what you are good at and what work suits you |
| Learning how to work | Getting to and from work, working in a team, solving problems and getting tasks done, the behaviours and communication skills employers expect, and confidence in real work settings |
| Finding or changing jobs | Finding a job that fits your skills, helping your employer learn how best to support you, and changing jobs or progressing your career |
| Getting support at work | Help for your employer to support you, help with tasks until you can do them yourself, personal care at work such as help with a meal, and on-the-job coaching, training and mentoring |
| Employment-related assessment, counselling and advice | Delivered by allied health professionals: vocational or functional assessment, identifying strengths and barriers, setting a work goal, workplace adjustments, counselling if your disability has stopped you returning to work, and education for you and your employer |
The NDIA adds that support at work “can be provided in any workplace”. Also, it can be one-to-one or in a group, depending on where you work and the support you need. It also notes that other supports, such as community participation, can build skills that lead towards a job, like using public transport and managing money.
The support items for work in the NDIS Pricing Schedule
Providers claim NDIS supports using support items: a name and a number listed in the NDIS Pricing Schedule. Several items in the Pricing Schedule 2026-27, which took effect on 24 September 2026, carry employment in their names:
| Support item name | Support item number |
|---|---|
| Employment Assistance | 10_016_0102_5_3 |
| Supports in Employment (weekday daytime, weekday evening, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday items) | 04_801_0133_5_1 to 04_805_0133_5_1, and 10_806_0133_5_1 |
| Employment Therapy - Occupational Therapist - Direct Service (with matching items for other professions) | 10_617_0128_5_3 |
| Psychosocial Recovery Coaching for Employment - Weekday Daytime | 10_101_0106_6_3 |
| Support Coordination Level 2: Coordination of Supports for Employment | 10_002_0106_8_3 |
The Employment Therapy items cover several professions. Besides occupational therapists, the Schedule lists items for psychologists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, rehabilitation counsellors, developmental educators and other professionals. Which items your provider uses depends on the support you receive and what your plan funds.
How to get finding and keeping a job NDIS funding in your plan
1. Set an employment goal that fits your stage
The NDIA’s page on setting employment goals starts with the stage you are in. If you already work or volunteer, it suggests thinking about your hours, whether you want more, and what helps you at work. When you are ready to look for work, it asks what you would like to do. Finally, if you are not ready yet, the NDIA says “you may use part of your funding for work experience or volunteering” to find out what you enjoy.
The NDIA also says your my NDIS contact or support coordinator can help you think about your goals. Our list of NDIS goal examples includes work goals you can adapt.
2. Share your goal at your plan meeting
You can share your goals at your plan meeting. According to the NDIA, your planner will include your goals in your plan and explain how your funding can help you work towards them.
3. Give the planner the details they need
The Guide to employment lists what your NDIA planner will need when including funding in your plan:
- where and when you work
- what tasks you do, and any extra help you need beyond what your employer gives
- whether you get support one-on-one or in a group
- any tasks that need adjusting, learning tools, or help to set up your workspace.
If you are not working yet, describe what you want to do and what gets in the way. Like every NDIS support, employment support also needs to meet the reasonable and necessary criteria.
Choosing an employment support provider
Once the funding is in your plan, the next step is to connect with a provider. The NDIA suggests three tools:
- its provider finder, to find employment support providers near you
- the provider quarterly report, which shares information about how providers have helped participants with employment
- the employment support provider comparison worksheet, a list of questions to ask a provider.
Your my NDIS contact or support coordinator can also help you connect with providers in your area. If you have a concern about a support later, the NDIA says to talk to your provider first. After that, you can ask your my NDIS contact or support coordinator for help, or contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
Keeping the funding: show your progress
The NDIA describes Finding and keeping a job as time-limited. In practice, the NDIA says you check your progress towards your goals at the plan reassessment at the end of your plan. Your my NDIS contact will talk with you about your progress and whether you need more funding.
Your employment support provider should give you a report for that reassessment. The NDIA says it should include:
- your work goal
- the NDIS supports delivered and your progress to date
- skills you still need to build
- a plan to get you there, including how long it is likely to take.
Ask for this report early, so you have time to read it before your reassessment. If your situation changes a lot before then, our guide to NDIS change of circumstances explains your options.
How employment coaching fits with finding and keeping a job NDIS funding
Employment coaching is one way to use Finding and keeping a job funding. At Centre of Hope, our employment coaching is funded from that category and covers the full journey:
- getting work-ready, including routine and what to expect on day one
- resume writing and interview practice
- workplace routine, communication and social skills
- finding work that matches your strengths and goals
- support to stay employed, including talking with managers
- working with employers and programmes such as Inclusive Employment Australia, so you have one connected team.
Before we start, we check that your plan has Finding and keeping a job funding. If one of the options we discuss is one of our own services, we tell you plainly, talk through the alternatives, and leave the decision with you.
Employment help outside the NDIS
The NDIA’s Guide to employment also names supports outside the NDIS. Your my NDIS contact can help you connect with them when you are ready:
- Inclusive Employment Australia: in the NDIA’s words, it “helps jobseekers with disability to find and maintain employment where the jobseeker has existing work skills and limited ongoing support needs”.
- Employment Assistance Fund: financial help for eligible people with disability and employers to buy work-related modifications, equipment, Auslan services, workplace assistance and support services.
- Community programmes and volunteering.
The NDIA points to the JobAccess website for more about Inclusive Employment Australia and the Employment Assistance Fund.
How to check finding and keeping a job NDIS rules yourself
- Read the NDIA’s Guide to employment. It lists what the NDIS can fund, what your planner needs, and what a provider report should contain.
- Check your plan’s capacity building budget for a Finding and keeping a job category. The NDIA’s capacity building page describes it.
- To check a support item, open the current NDIS Pricing Schedule from the NDIA’s pricing arrangements page and search for the item name or number.
- For help shaping a work goal, read the NDIA’s page on how to set employment goals.
- If you are aged 14 to 24, read the NDIA’s guide to employment support for young participants.
Frequently asked questions
Is NDIS Finding and keeping a job funding core or capacity building?
It is a capacity building support category. Capacity building is one of the 4 support budgets in an NDIS plan, and it can have up to 9 categories.
Who can get finding and keeping a job NDIS funding?
The NDIA describes it as support for all working-age participants, and says employment supports are available to any working-age participant with an employment goal. Your plan still depends on the NDIA’s decision about your needs.
Is NDIS Finding and keeping a job funding time-limited?
Yes. The NDIA calls it time-limited support. It also says you check your progress towards your goals at your plan reassessment, and your employment support provider should give you a report for it.
Can NDIS Finding and keeping a job funding be used for volunteering or work experience?
It can. The NDIA says that if you are not ready to look for work, you may use part of your funding for work experience or volunteering. That way, you can find out what you enjoy and what skills you have.
Does the NDIS pay for personal care at work?
It can. The NDIA’s Guide to employment lists personal care at work, such as help with having a meal, as part of getting support at work.
What should an employment provider’s report include?
The NDIA lists your work goal, the supports delivered and your progress, and the skills you need to build. In addition, the report should set out the plan to get there, including how long it is likely to take.
What is Inclusive Employment Australia?
It is an employment programme outside the NDIS that the NDIA’s Guide to employment names. The NDIA describes it as help for jobseekers with disability who have existing work skills and limited ongoing support needs. JobAccess has more detail.
How do I find an employment support provider?
The NDIA suggests its provider finder, its provider quarterly report and its employment support provider comparison worksheet. Your my NDIS contact or support coordinator can also help.
How Centre of Hope can help
Centre of Hope is a registered NDIS provider in NSW. Our employment coaching helps participants with a work goal, from getting job-ready to settling into a role. Through support coordination, we can also help you connect employment supports with the rest of your plan. To talk about finding and keeping a job NDIS funding, you can contact our team.
Related reading
- NDIS employment supports explained: every kind of work support in one place
- Capacity building supports explained: the budget this funding sits in
- NDIS goal examples: including work goals
- Recovery coach NDIS guide: support for psychosocial disability, including at work
- Employment coaching at Centre of Hope
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not replace personal advice about your circumstances. Information is current as at 21 October 2026 and reflects the NDIA’s Guide to employment (current as of 18 August 2026), the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27 (effective 24 September 2026) and the other NDIA pages linked in this article. Any example is illustrative and is not an entitlement: what your plan funds depends on the NDIA’s decision about your needs. Rules and support items change, so always confirm the current position at ndis.gov.au before you rely on it. Centre of Hope is a registered NDIS provider in NSW, registration 4050161679.
