What is SDA housing?
A plain English guide to Specialist Disability Accommodation, for participants, families and the people supporting them.
Specialist Disability Accommodation, or SDA, is housing designed and built for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. It is funded by the NDIS and it pays for the bricks and mortar: the building itself and the features in it, like wide doorways, ceiling hoists, reinforced walls or button operated doors. SDA is not the support workers who help you at home. That is funded separately.
What SDA does not cover
This is the part that causes the most confusion, so it is worth being blunt about it. SDA pays for the home. It does not pay for the help you receive inside it. The NDIS funds these separately:
- Personal care, such as help to eat, shower or transfer out of bed
- Supported Independent Living (SIL), which pays for your support workers
- Individualised Living Options (ILO)
- Assistive technology
It also helps to know that SDA is the only housing the NDIS funds. Most people with a disability rent, own their home, or live in social housing. If you need housing help and SDA is not the right fit, your my NDIS contact can point you to state and territory programs.
The four SDA design categories
SDA is categorised by how the home is built to suit your needs
Improved Liveability
Better physical access and extra features for people with sensory, intellectual or cognitive impairment. Think walls and floors that are easy to tell apart, good lighting, and living areas laid out so a support worker can see you easily.
Fully Accessible
A high level of physical access for people with significant physical impairment. This is the category to look at if you use a wheelchair at home.
Robust
Built to be strong, durable and safe for you and the people around you, so it needs fewer repairs. It can suit people who need help managing complex or challenging behaviours.
High Physical Support
A high level of physical access for people who need very high levels of support. These homes may include ceiling hoists, backup power, home automation and communication technology.
An SDA home can be a house, apartment, villa, duplex or townhouse. The design category and the building type are recorded separately in your funding.
How the money works
Three separate streams pay for three separate things, and they do not come out of the same pocket:
- SDA funding is paid to your SDA provider for the home itself.
- SIL funding, if you have it, pays your support workers.
- You pay a reasonable rent contribution and your day to day living costs, like electricity.
There is a cap on what a provider can charge you, called the Maximum Reasonable Rent Contribution. Under the NDIS SDA pricing arrangements it is 25 per cent of the maximum basic rate of the Disability Support Pension, plus 25 per cent of the maximum rate of the Pension Supplement, plus 100 per cent of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance you are entitled to. Your provider cannot charge you more than that, and the amount you pay must be written into your service agreement.
Read the current SDA pricing arrangements on the NDIS website
What living in SDA is actually like
Most SDA is a home shared with a small number of other people, where you have your own private bedroom. Some people live on their own where that is the best fit for their needs, and you can choose to share a room with a partner if you want to.
The home has to be enrolled with the NDIS as an SDA dwelling, and the provider has to be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. You will also need a written service agreement with your provider, and you will need to record them on your plan as one of your providers.
Common questions
Who is SDA housing for?
SDA is for NDIS participants with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs, where other home and living supports do not meet those needs. The NDIA decides whether you are eligible and includes SDA in your plan. An SDA provider cannot make that decision.
Does SDA funding pay for my support workers?
No. SDA pays for the home itself. Support workers are funded separately, usually through Supported Independent Living funding. Many people living in SDA have both.
How much rent will I pay in an SDA home?
A provider cannot charge more than the Maximum Reasonable Rent Contribution, which is 25 per cent of the maximum basic rate of the Disability Support Pension, plus 25 per cent of the maximum rate of the Pension Supplement, plus 100 per cent of any Commonwealth Rent Assistance you receive. You also pay everyday costs like electricity.
Can I live on my own in SDA?
Usually SDA is shared with a small number of other residents and you have your own private bedroom. Living alone is possible where it is the best option for your needs.
Next steps
If you already have SDA funding in your plan, you can look through the homes we have available now. If you do not have SDA funding yet, the next page walks through how to ask the NDIS for it.