Travelling with a support worker is a necessity for many travellers with a disability and for others, like our family, it can be a choice. We’ve travelled with a support worker to allow Braeden to be on the go as much as he likes without wearing out the rest of the family. We’ve also done it so Hubby and I can do activities that don’t interest Braeden, like lingering over a long dinner or lunch.
The logistics of travelling with a support worker can be a difficult process to navigate so we thought we’d share our experience and tips kindly shared by our Have Wheelchair Will Travel community.
Travelling with a support worker
Over the years we’ve received many questions from our community asking about how to travel with a support worker, what is reasonable paid hours versus unpaid hours and how to manage expectations on both sides.
Whether you hire a support worker at your destination, or travel with a known support worker that you work with regularly, may depend on your needs and where you are travelling. As a family we have done both and found each option successful. As a family we felt more comfortable travelling with a known support worker that was not only familiar with Braeden’s needs but also someone all members of the family felt at ease with when travelling together.
Hiring a support worker at our destination
There are pros and cons to hiring a support worker at your destination. The pro for us was that we only needed to pay for hours needed for working with Braeden. We didn’t have to pay for accommodation, meals or flights for the support worker, so it was a more economical use of funding and also our travel budget. Hours worked with Braeden are covered by the NDIS but travel for the support worker is not.
The con to hiring a support worker at our destination was that it was a leap of faith. Braeden was dependent on someone he had only just met and I found it more difficult to relax because we hadn’t trained the support worker or got to know her over a period of time.
When we made the decision to try to book a support worker at our destination, I looked for the support worker on the HireUp platform. I chose someone who was familiar with working with people with much higher support needs than Braeden in the hope she was over qualified for the job. I then reached out to her with a message letting her know a bit about Braeden and the support we were looking for to gauge her interest in working with Braeden for a few hours over a couple of days. We then organised a phone call so we could chat and that gave me a better idea of her personality and experience. Based on that we went ahead with making a booking. Braeden was very happy and it all went well.
Would I do it again? Perhaps. It isn’t my preferred way of gaining a little bit of time out when we travel but it is definitely easier and cheaper than travelling with a support worker from home.
Travelling with a familiar support worker
We were fortunate to have a fabulous support worker that we all loved when we were planning a domestic trip. While we intended to spend most of the time as a family, there were some experiences I was keen to do with Hubby that weren’t accessible or of interest to Braeden, so we started entertaining the idea of asking our support worker if she would consider travelling with us. We offered to pay for her airfare and also a hotel room so she was independent from us when she wasn’t working. We also chatted about the times we would like support and made the hours she would have available to do her own thing clear before finalising things. When we got to our destination everything was working so well we ended up spending most of the time together. It was important to us that Amelia was just as comfortable as everyone else and with this particular support worker she was more than happy.
Travelling with our support worker was a great success but I think the mix of personalities and her ability to blend seamlessly with our family was why it worked so well. I wouldn’t be as sure of it working again but if it felt right we’d definitely do it.
How others travel with support
Some of our Have Wheelchair Will Travel community have suggested putting up a post on a job board on platforms like HireUp if you are looking for a support worker at your destination.
Readers have suggested that the level of care required for the person needing the support may determine if a support worker can be successfully hired locally when travelling.
Those that have had success travelling with a regular support worker on a trip have had clear expectations, agreed hours and arrangements in place before leaving home. Some report that even with this in place it hasn’t worked as they would like once they are travelling.
One member of the HWWT suggests including the support workers in the planning process so there is something of interest for everyone.
Several members mentioned that they ensured their support worker wasn’t disadvantaged by being away and covered the hours that they would normally have work for if they were at home.
Most shared that it works well to ensure the support worker has a balance of work hours and leisure time. Just ensure it is stated in advance.
Be aware
From our understanding, support hours can be covered by the NDIS if you are under that scheme. But, keep in mind accommodation for a support worker, airfares and other incidental costs are not covered. It is worth checking with your plan manager about anything related to your NDIS plan.
Keep in mind the discount airfares available to those that do need support to travel. Both Qantas and Virgin Australia offer concession fares for people who are unable to travel without assistance. You can find all the details you need in these reviews –
Virgin Australia disability assistance fare
While our family doesn’t need a support worker as Hubby and I can assist Braeden, it is necessary for many to have vital support to travel. From the feedback we received about this topic on our Have Wheelchair Will Travel Facebook page it was clear that in order to travel with a support worker people need to have a good relationship to start with and ensure that there is clear communication about expectations. We know that it can be tricky to discuss which hours will and won’t be paid when away but it’s important this topic is tackled early on in discussions.
We’ve been fortunate to have others share their experience in the following posts if you’d like to read more.
Carly hired a nanny in Bali and found it was a game-changer for her family. Read about her experience in this story which originally appeared in Travel Without Limits magazine.
Srin travelled with a personal assistant and was left high and dry when things didn’t go so well. Read his experience and tips in this blog post.
Tegan travels internationally with a team of several support workers and shares her insights for choosing support workers and how to make it work in this story that originally appeared in Travel Without Limits magazine.
If you’ve got any tips or if you’d like to share your experience with hiring, or travelling with a support worker, please pop them in comments below.
