NDIS Cleaning Glossary

Browse the glossary or visit the national NDIS cleaning guide.

This NDIS cleaning glossary gives plain-English meanings for terms that may appear when arranging indoor household cleaning. It is a reference, not an eligibility decision, price list or statement about a particular provider’s registration. Official rules and the participant’s current plan take priority.

A

Access notes

Practical instructions needed to reach and work safely at the service address, such as building entry, stairs, lifts, pets, parking, indoor movement routes and an authorised contact. Access notes should not include passwords or personal information unrelated to the service.

Authorised contact

A person the participant has permitted to communicate about specified parts of the cleaning arrangement. Being a relative, housemate or support worker does not automatically give someone authority to approve tasks, share plan information or change the service.

C

Canonical page

The preferred web page for a topic when similar URLs exist. This is an SEO term, not an NDIS term. A self-canonical page points search engines to its own approved URL.

Core supports

One of the support-budget types an NDIS plan may include. NDIA guidance says core supports can help with everyday activities such as cleaning, depending on the participant’s individual plan, disability-related needs and goals. A core budget does not make every cleaning purchase eligible.

E

Essential household task

A necessary household activity the participant is not able to complete because of disability. Official NDIS material includes cleaning among possible household-task supports. The particular support still needs to be an NDIS support, relate to disability and be in line with the participant’s plan.

Exclusion

Work that a quote or service agreement says is not included. Clear exclusions prevent a general indoor cleaning request from being mistaken for unlimited work or for another service such as repairs, gardening or personal care.

F

Funding management

The way payments and financial records are handled for an NDIS plan. The three options are self-management, plan management and NDIA management, and a participant’s plan can use a mix. The management method affects payment steps and provider requirements, but not whether an item is automatically an NDIS support.

Funding confirmation

A check that the proposed support can be paid from the relevant participant’s plan under current rules. A cleaning provider can describe work and price, but cannot promise that the NDIA or a plan manager will approve funding.

H

Household Tasks

An NDIS registration-group and support-catalogue term covering certain assistance with essential household activities. Its presence in official material does not mean every household job, participant or provider arrangement qualifies. This glossary deliberately avoids repeating a support item number because code selection belongs in specific billing guidance.

I

Indoor household cleaning

For these Smurfettes guides, ordinary cleaning of agreed indoor rooms and suitable surfaces. A written quote sets the exact tasks. It does not include gardening, exterior work, property maintenance, repairs, personal care, transport, meal preparation, organising, clinical work or other non-cleaning supports.

Invoice

A payment record issued for supplied work. NDIA guidance for self-managed records includes the provider’s name, ABN or reason for exemption, support dates, category and description, quantity, unit price, total and a receipt or tax invoice. An invoice should be checked against what was agreed and delivered.

M

My NDIS contact

The NDIA contact who helps a participant understand and use their plan. That role is different from a cleaner, plan manager or support coordinator.

N

NDIA

The National Disability Insurance Agency, the Australian Government agency that runs the NDIS. It makes plan and funding decisions and manages payments for NDIA-managed funding.

NDIA-managed funding

A management option where the NDIA pays providers and manages financial records. The NDIA says providers used for NDIA-managed funding must be registered. See the separate NDIA-managed cleaning guide for that pathway.

NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Scheme. It provides eligible participants with funding for individual supports under the NDIS Act and rules.

NDIS Code of Conduct

Conduct rules applying to people and organisations delivering NDIS supports and services. The NDIS Commission describes duties involving participant rights, privacy, safe and competent service, integrity, transparency and action on quality or safety concerns.

NDIS Commission

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, which regulates NDIS providers and workers and handles concerns about the quality and safety of NDIS supports and services. It is separate from the NDIA, which handles plans, funding decisions, participant portals and some payment matters.

NDIS support

A service, item or piece of equipment that NDIS laws allow the scheme to fund. The NDIA says a purchase must be an NDIS support, relate to disability and be in line with the participant’s plan before NDIS funding is used.

P

Participant

A person who has an NDIS plan. The participant retains choice and control and may authorise another person to help with particular decisions or communications.

Plan-managed funding

A management option where a registered plan manager pays providers and manages financial records. Participants can usually use registered or unregistered providers for plan-managed supports, except where the type of support itself requires registration. Read the plan-managed cleaning guide for more detail.

Plan manager

A registered provider funded to manage part of a participant’s NDIS budget, pay providers and keep financial records. A plan manager does not become the cleaning provider or automatically approve an unsupported purchase.

Price basis

The method used to calculate a charge, such as an hourly amount, per-visit amount or another stated unit. A clear quote explains the quantity, applicable amount, estimated total and possible additional charges without implying that a maximum price is the required price.

Provider

A person, business or organisation that supplies an NDIS support or service. A provider can be registered or unregistered, and the provider type a participant can use depends on the funding-management method and the support.

Provider Register

The public register maintained by the NDIS Commission. It can be used to check whether a provider is currently registered or has a suspended or revoked registration. Marketing wording should not replace a live register check.

Q

Quote

A written proposal describing work and price before acceptance. For cleaning, it should make the rooms, tasks, frequency or quantity, price basis, exclusions and possible extra charges understandable. The quote guide provides a full checklist.

R

Reasonable and necessary

Criteria the NDIA uses when deciding which supports to fund in an individual plan. The NDIA, not the cleaning provider, makes that plan decision. It considers the participant’s circumstances, evidence, amount and frequency among other requirements.

Receipt

Evidence that payment was made. Self-managers need suitable records of NDIS spending, which can include receipts and paid invoices.

Registered NDIS provider

A provider that has completed the NDIS Commission registration process for specified registration groups and holds a current registration. “Registered” has a precise regulatory meaning. Check the official register and the relevant approved groups instead of relying on an “NDIS approved” phrase.

S

Scope

The exact work a provider and participant are considering or have agreed. An indoor cleaning scope names the address, rooms, tasks, priorities, frequency, access requirements, boundaries and exclusions. Use the scope worksheet to prepare one.

Self-managed funding

A management option where the participant, nominee or representative pays providers and keeps financial records. Self-managers can choose registered or unregistered providers, subject to rules for supports that require registration. The self-managed cleaning guide explains this route.

Service agreement

An agreement between the participant and provider describing the supports, delivery, cost, payment, responsibilities and change process. The NDIA recommends a written agreement when starting with a new provider, although it is not mandatory for most supports.

Special request

An indoor task outside the standard list that needs individual assessment, such as heavy build-up, detailed cupboard or appliance interiors, internal glass or an unfamiliar surface. Mentioning it does not mean the provider has accepted it; written confirmation is required.

Support coordinator

A provider who helps a participant understand and use their plan and connect with supports when support coordination is funded. A support coordinator can assist within that role but does not replace the participant’s authority or make the provider’s funding guarantee.

U

Unregistered provider

A provider that is not registered with the NDIS Commission. Self-managed and plan-managed participants can usually use unregistered providers, but NDIA-managed funding and certain types of support require registered providers. Unregistered does not mean exempt from the NDIS Code of Conduct.

Where to verify the terms

This glossary was source-checked on 4 September 2026. Use the NDIA pages on NDIS supports, management options, choosing a provider and service agreements. Registration can be checked on the NDIS Commission’s Provider Register, and conduct duties are explained in the NDIS Code of Conduct.

Ask about indoor cleaning

To request an assessment from Smurfettes, send the exact address, indoor task list, access notes, preferred timing and billing pathway to info@smurfettescleaningservice.net. Smurfettes must confirm task fit, capacity and a written scope before a booking exists, and the participant must confirm the funding pathway separately.