Tax Deductions for NDIS Support Workers: A Complete Guide for 2024-25
As an NDIS support worker, you play a critical role in your community — helping participants achieve their goals and live more independently. Whether you are an employee of a registered provider or operating as a sole trader contractor, you may be entitled to a range of tax deductions that can significantly reduce your taxable income.
This guide walks you through what deductions are available, what you need to track, and how to ensure you are claiming everything you are entitled to. At Trinity Accounting Practice, we work with NDIS support workers and NDIS providers across Sydney and Australia to get their tax right.
Deductions You Can Claim
The following are the most common deductions available to NDIS support workers. These apply whether you are an employee or a sole trader, though sole traders and contractors may have access to a broader range of business deductions.
Professional Fees and Insurance
You can claim industry association memberships, NDIS Worker Screening Check fees, professional indemnity or public liability insurance premiums, and union fees. These are all directly connected to earning your income and are deductible in the year they are paid.
Protective Equipment
Expenses for gloves, masks, hand sanitiser, non-slip shoes, PPE for specific client care, and sunscreen if you work outdoors are all deductible — provided you pay for them yourself and are not reimbursed by your employer or client.
Training and Professional Development
Any professional development directly related to your current role is deductible. This includes first aid refresher courses, client care workshops, NDIS framework and practice standards training, manual handling courses, and mental health first aid certification. If travel and accommodation are necessary to attend training, those costs are also claimable.
Courses designed to help you move into an entirely new career or profession are not deductible. The training must have a direct connection to the work you currently perform.
Work-Related Equipment
You can claim items you purchase for use in your role, including work-use phones or tablets, laptops, medical tools, and client care equipment.
Items costing $300 or less can be claimed as an immediate deduction in the year of purchase. Items costing more than $300 must be depreciated over their effective life. If an item is used for both personal and professional purposes, only the work-related portion is deductible — you must apportion the cost based on your work-use percentage.
If you are a small business with aggregated turnover under $10 million, you may be eligible for the $20,000 instant asset write-off. Under this measure, assets costing less than $20,000 each can be immediately deducted rather than depreciated over several years.
Business Travel
Eligible travel expenses include travel between client appointments or job sites, public transport between locations during the working day, overnight accommodation when required for work, and parking and tolls incurred while travelling between work locations.
You cannot claim travel from your home to your first client or from your last client back home — that is considered private commuting. However, if your home is your base of operations and you travel directly from home to client locations throughout the day, the rules may differ for sole traders. Speak to our team about your specific circumstances.
Working From Home Expenses
If you complete administrative tasks from home such as writing case notes, scheduling appointments, or managing invoices, you may be able to claim home office expenses.
The fixed rate method allows you to claim 67 cents per hour for every hour you spend working from home. This rate covers electricity, internet, phone, stationery, and computer consumables. You must keep a record of the actual hours worked from home.
The actual cost method allows you to claim the real work-related portion of your running expenses, including electricity, internet, and depreciation on office furniture. This method requires more detailed record-keeping but may produce a higher deduction.
Vehicle Expenses
If you use your personal vehicle to travel between clients or job sites, you can claim vehicle expenses using one of two methods.
Cents per Kilometre Method
This method allows you to claim 88 cents per kilometre for the 2024-25 income year, up to a maximum of 5,000 business kilometres per year. That equates to a maximum deduction of $4,400. You do not need written evidence of your kilometres, but you must be able to show how you calculated your claim.
Logbook Method
For support workers who travel extensively between clients, the logbook method typically produces a larger deduction. You must keep a logbook for a continuous period of 12 weeks to establish your business-use percentage. The logbook remains valid for five years, provided your work circumstances do not change significantly.
Under the logbook method, you can claim the business-use percentage of fuel, repairs and maintenance, registration and insurance, loan interest, and depreciation. For cars (vehicles designed to carry fewer than nine passengers and a load of less than one tonne), the depreciation cost limit for 2024-25 is $69,674.
Work Uniform and Laundry
You can claim the cost of purchasing and laundering work clothing if you wear a specific uniform with your organisation logo, protective clothing is required for your role, or you launder the work clothing yourself.
You cannot claim general clothing, even if you only wear it for work. The clothing must be occupation-specific, protective in nature, or a compulsory uniform.
If your total laundry claim for eligible work clothing is $150 or less for the year, you can claim it without written evidence. For claims above $150, you will need receipts or diary records.
Special Licences
If your role requires a heavy vehicle licence or other special licence beyond a standard driver licence, the renewal cost may be deductible. Standard driver licence fees are a personal expense and cannot be claimed. However, if obtaining a special licence is a condition of your current employment, the cost of renewal is generally deductible.
Meals While Working
Meals are only deductible in limited circumstances. You can claim meal expenses if you are required to stay overnight away from home for work purposes, or if you incur meal costs during official training or conferences that require an overnight stay. Daily meals or snacks consumed during regular shifts at your usual work locations are not deductible.
Self-Education Expenses
Courses and study are deductible if they improve skills directly related to your current NDIS support work role. You can also claim textbooks, stationery, and transport costs to attend courses. Study that is designed to help you move into a different career is not deductible.
What NDIS Support Workers Cannot Claim
It is important to understand what the tax office does not allow as a deduction. Non-deductible expenses include childcare costs (whether centre-based, at-home, or informal arrangements), entertainment or social events even if they include clients, prescription glasses and contact lenses (these are personal health expenses), and grooming costs such as haircuts, skincare, and makeup regardless of whether your role is client-facing.
Claiming expenses you are not entitled to can trigger an audit and result in penalties and interest charges. If you are unsure whether an expense qualifies, speak to our team before lodging your return.
Record-Keeping Tips
Proper documentation is essential to substantiate your claims and stay audit-ready. Keep receipts for all work-related purchases. Use a digital app to log travel kilometres or hours worked from home. Maintain a car logbook if you are claiming vehicle expenses via the logbook method. Save copies of invoices, payment summaries, and income statements. Keep insurance policies and NDIS Worker Screening Check certificates on file.
You are required to keep your tax records for a minimum of five years from the date you lodge your return. Using accounting software such as Xero makes it much easier to capture receipts, categorise expenses, and have everything organised when tax time arrives.
Additional Considerations for Sole Traders and Contractors
If you operate as a sole trader or contractor providing NDIS support services, you can deduct a broader range of business expenses including accounting and bookkeeping fees, advertising, job management software, bank fees on your business account, and a dedicated work phone or internet plan.
GST and BAS Obligations
If your annual turnover reaches $75,000, you are required to register for GST and lodge Business Activity Statements. Proper bookkeeping and BAS management ensures you claim all your GST credits and meet your lodgement obligations on time.
Superannuation
As a sole trader, superannuation contributions to your own fund are not compulsory, but they are a highly effective tax strategy. Concessional (before-tax) contributions up to $30,000 per year for the 2024-25 income year are tax-deductible and reduce your taxable income. If you employ staff, you must pay the superannuation guarantee of 11.5 per cent on their ordinary time earnings.
SCHADS Award Awareness
If you employ support workers, be aware that the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (SCHADS Award) is one of the most complex modern awards in Australia. It includes specific provisions for classification levels, broken shift allowances, sleepover rates, minimum engagement periods, and travel time between clients. Getting payroll wrong under this award can result in significant underpayment claims. Our NDIS specialist team can help you navigate these obligations.
Get Your NDIS Support Worker Tax Return Right
NDIS support workers have unique work conditions — travelling between clients, purchasing protective equipment, and often working across multiple providers. With the right guidance, you can optimise your tax outcomes and ensure every legitimate deduction is claimed.
At Trinity Accounting Practice, we work with NDIS support workers and providers across Sydney and Australia. Whether you are an employee looking to maximise your refund or a sole trader managing your own business, we can help you get your tax right.
Trinity Accounting Practice
Accounting Firm in Beverly Hills, Sydney
Phone: 02 9543 6804
Address: 159 Stoney Creek Road, Beverly Hills NSW 2209
Website: www.trinitygroup.com.au
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Disclaimer: Information provided on this website is intended as a general overview only and does not replace professional advice tailored to your personal circumstances.
