Spinal cord injury: getting home, and getting on with life
The spinal unit taught you a new routine for your bladder, your bowel and your skin. Now you need people at home who will do it your way, every time. Kinship supports people with a spinal cord injury, and the families learning alongside them, across Western Sydney, with the same support worker every visit.
- Registered NDIS provider (4-GWVHCEY)
- Same support worker every visit
- Free plain-English guide to download
What is a spinal cord injury?
A spinal cord injury happens when the spinal cord is damaged, blocking or impairing the nerve pathways between the brain and the body. How much movement, strength and sensation a person keeps depends on where the damage is and how severe it is (Spinal Life Australia).
Injuries can come from a fall, a car crash or sport. Spinal cord damage can also come from medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis, stroke or transverse myelitis. Damage in the upper back usually means paraplegia, affecting both legs. Damage in the neck can mean quadriplegia, affecting arms and legs.
Common effects include paralysis, pain, changes to bladder and bowel control, a higher risk of pressure sores, and changes in blood pressure. Spinal Life Australia’s view is that with persistence, work and support, people regain independence and life finds a “new normal”.
A note on words: we say “person with a spinal cord injury”. Spinal Cord Injuries Australia was founded in 1967 by people with spinal cord injury, and most of its board live with one. Their lived-experience team is a good first call.
Figures: SpinalCure Australia (20,000+); AIHW, Spinal cord injury, Australia 2017–18 (national register data, published 2021). General information only, not medical advice. Talk to your GP or health team about your own situation.
The questions people search for
These are the questions Australians type into Google about spinal cord injury, answered from the organisations that know it best.
Can you recover from a spinal cord injury?
It depends on the injury. How much movement and sensation a person keeps depends on where the cord was damaged and how severe the damage is (Spinal Life Australia). Your spinal unit team is the right place to ask about your own injury.
What’s the difference between paraplegia and quadriplegia?
Paraplegia generally means paralysis of both legs, from damage in the thoracic (upper back) region. Quadriplegia comes from damage in the neck and affects the arms as well as the legs (Spinal Life Australia).
How does it affect the bladder and bowel?
Loss of bladder and bowel control is one of the common effects (Spinal Life Australia). Many people search for a “bowel program” or “bowel routine”: a planned daily routine worked out with the health team.
What is life like after a spinal cord injury?
Different for everyone. Spinal Cord Injuries Australia’s peer and family support team, people with lived experience, visit spinal units and run catch-ups in the community. Hearing from someone who has been there can help.
Is a spinal cord injury covered by the NDIS?
It can be, if you’re under 65 when you apply and meet the other rules. If your injury involves a compensation claim, such as a car accident, you need to tell the NDIS. You can still apply (NDIS).
What causes most spinal cord injuries?
In the AIHW’s 2017–18 national register data, land transport crashes caused 46% of new traumatic spinal cord injuries and falls caused 36%.
What helps, day to day
Small, practical things that make a week easier. Take what fits and leave the rest.
A routine that works at home
A routine planned with your health team, kept the same way every day, by people who know it. Free advice: National Continence Helpline, 1800 33 00 66.
Daily skin checks
Pressure sores are a known risk after spinal cord damage (Spinal Life Australia). Your health team will show you what to check and how often.
Talk to someone who’s lived it
Spinal Cord Injuries Australia runs peer and family support, in spinal units and online. Call 1800 819 775.
Equipment and changes at home
Assistive technology, equipment and home modifications are usually prescribed by a health professional, and the NDIS can fund disability-specific supports like these (NDIS).
Look after your mental health
Adjusting takes time. SCIA offers mental health support, and Medicare Mental Health (1800 595 212) can help you find services.
How the NDIS can help
To be eligible for the NDIS you need to be younger than 65 when your application is received, an Australian citizen or permanent resident (or Protected Special Category visa holder) living in Australia, and have an impairment that’s likely to be permanent and substantially reduces your ability to do everyday things.
Physical and neurological impairments are among the types the NDIS considers. If your injury came from a car accident or a public place and you’re claiming compensation, tell the NDIS: you can still apply and still be a participant, but the NDIS can’t fund supports already paid for by compensation (NDIS).
A plan can fund support workers for help at home, personal care and getting out, plus supports that build skills. Start by calling 1800 800 110 or your local NDIS partner. The NDIS says it will decide within 90 days once it has your application and all your evidence.
The NDIS is changing
New NDIS laws passed in August 2026. From 1 October 2026, budgets for social and community participation and for daily living skills are being reduced as plans are reassessed or newly approved, and a new way of planning is due from April 2027. Check ndis.gov.au for the latest.
What’s changing (ndis.gov.au) →Support done your way, every time
We support people, not diagnoses. After a spinal cord injury, that means care done precisely the way your routine needs, by the same support worker every visit.
We understand that routine is everything
After a spinal cord injury, your bladder, bowel and skin routines matter, and they need to be done properly every time. Getting it wrong isn’t a small inconvenience. It can mean pressure injuries, infections or a lost day.
Many people come home with a new body to learn and a family learning alongside them. You want support workers who follow your routine rather than inventing their own, and who get you out the door for work, sport and friends.
Registered, experienced and local
- Registered NDIS provider (4-GWVHCEY)
- In disability and aged care since 2017
- High intensity: complex bowel care, catheter care and wound care
- Registered to deliver SIL
- Same support worker every visit
- Hundreds of clients and families supported
Founded by Shazia Begum, who has spent more than 15 years alongside people living with disability. Based at 39 Victory Road, Colebee, and families get updates from us as standard.
Here’s how we can help
Personal care and daily living
Showering, dressing, meals and the running of the house, done the way your routine needs, at your pace.
Daily living support →Bowel, catheter and wound care
Complex bowel care, catheter care and wound care are on our registered high intensity list.
High intensity support →Community participation
Getting back out: sport, work, appointments, friends.
Community participation →Supported Independent Living
For people who need support at home day and night. We’re registered to deliver SIL; call us to talk about current availability.
Supported Independent Living →Private nursing and help at home
Anyone can book privately, while funding is sorted or alongside it. For private nursing, send us an enquiry and we’ll talk it through. For other services, call us for a quote.
Private services →Respite for the family
A familiar support worker spends time with you at home or out in the community, so your partner or family can rest, get to their own appointments or simply have the afternoon. NDIS-funded or booked privately.
Respite care →Partners and parents often learn new care tasks fast. We keep you updated as standard, and respite with a familiar worker gives you time to be family again, not only carers.
Respite care →If you’re a discharge planner, support coordinator or plan manager, call us to talk through support at home after a spinal unit stay, including high intensity bowel, catheter and wound care.
Information for referrers →Come and talk to us
If you’d like us to help with this, call 0437 733 744 and we’ll talk it through. Tell us your routine and what matters to you. We’ll tell you plainly whether and how we can help.
Take it with you
The free spinal cord injury guide is a printable PDF of this page, with a checklist and the numbers to call. Easy to share with family, your GP or your support coordinator.
Referring someone?
Support coordinators, plan managers, discharge planners and case managers: a short call is the fastest way to check whether we can help.
For referrers →Continence products and advice
Bladder and bowel changes are common after a spinal cord injury. For independent advice, the National Continence Helpline (1800 33 00 66) is free and staffed by nurse continence specialists.
Equipit sells continence products such as adult nappies and continence briefs. Equipit is the product-supply arm of Kinship Uniting Services, an NDIS registered and CHSP approved provider since 2017.
Disclosure: Equipit is part of the same family of businesses as Kinship, and Equipit itself is not NDIS registered. You’re free to buy from any supplier. Agency-managed NDIS funds can’t be spent with Equipit; if you’re self-managed or plan-managed, check with your plan manager first.
More free guides
Plain-English guides for the parts of the NDIS and caring that trip people up. Swipe to see them all.
How to apply for the NDIS
Eligibility, evidence and the application, step by step.
Read the guide →After you apply for the NDIS
What happens while you wait, and what to do with the decision.
Read the guide →Understanding your NDIS plan
Budgets, funding periods and how to read your plan.
Read the guide →Choosing an NDIS provider
Questions to ask, and how to check a provider’s registration.
Read the guide →Looking after yourself as a carer
Practical support for the people who are always there.
Read the guide →Questions families ask us
Can Kinship support someone coming home from a spinal unit?
Yes, for NDIS participants and private bookings. Call 0437 733 744 before discharge if you can, so we can talk through the support needed and tell you plainly whether we can staff it.
Do your support workers help with bowel and catheter care?
Complex bowel care and catheter care are on our registered high intensity list, along with wound care.
My injury came from a car accident. Does that change anything?
It can. If you have a CTP or workers compensation claim, your insurer may fund care at home. If an insurer or case manager is involved, they can contact us through our For referrers page. Tell the NDIS about any compensation claim too.
Will the same support worker come each time?
Yes. The same support worker every visit, so your routine is done the same way, every time.
Can I book help privately while funding is sorted?
Yes. For private nursing, send us an enquiry and we’ll talk it through. For other services, call for a quote. The final price is confirmed in writing before any booking.
Is this page medical advice?
No. It’s general information only. Talk to your GP, spinal unit or health team about your own situation.
How do we get started with Kinship?
Call 0437 733 744, or send an enquiry through our website. We’ll ask about the person first: what a good day looks like and what’s getting harder. Then we’ll tell you plainly whether and how we can help. If there’s an NDIS plan, have it nearby. If there isn’t one yet, we can still talk it through.
Where this information comes from
- Spinal Life Australia: What is spinal cord damage?
- AIHW: Spinal cord injury, Australia 2017–18
- SpinalCure Australia: Spinal cord injury facts
- Spinal Cord Injuries Australia (about SCIA)
- Spinal Cord Injuries Australia: Peer and family support
- Spinal Cord Injuries Australia: Contact us
- NDIS: What are the NDIS disability requirements
- NDIS: How to check your eligibility
- NDIS: What is compensation
- NDIS: How to apply
- NDIS: Securing the NDIS for future generations (new NDIS laws)
- NDIS: New way of planning
- Continence Health Australia: National Continence Helpline
- Medicare Mental Health (national phone service 1800 595 212)
The questions in “What people ask” reflect Google Australia search suggestions, checked 4 October 2026. Figures are quoted from the organisation named; check the source for the latest. General information only, not medical advice. Talk to your GP or health team about your own situation. Page reviewed October 2026.
Let’s talk about what you need
A short phone call is usually the easiest start. We’ll ask a few questions, tell you plainly whether we can help, and agree next steps together.
Registration 4-GWVHCEY. How to check any provider’s registration in two minutes.