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 an extreme functional impairment or very high support needs, where the other home and living supports in the plan do not meet those needs. The test sits in the SDA Rules 2020 and the decision belongs to the NDIA, not to a housing provider: a planner has to be satisfied that SDA is reasonable and necessary for you before it appears in your plan. In practice the evidence comes from a housing assessment by an occupational therapist that explains why mainstream housing, home modifications or a different support arrangement would not work. Providers like us can show you homes and answer questions, but we cannot make or influence that decision.
Source: NDIS (Specialist Disability Accommodation) Rules 2020
Does SDA funding pay for my support workers?
No. SDA pays for the home itself: the building, its accessible design and its upkeep. The people who support you day to day are funded separately, most often through Supported Independent Living, and delivered by a SIL provider. The two are separate contracts. You sign a service agreement with the SDA provider for the home and another with the SIL provider for support, and you can change support provider without having to move house. On each of our listings the SIL provider already working in that home is named, so you know who would be supporting you before you visit.
How much rent will I pay in an SDA home?
The SDA Rules 2020 cap what a provider can charge at the reasonable rent contribution: 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. In practice that is a fixed weekly amount that moves twice a year when the pension is indexed. Everyday costs such as electricity, internet and food are on top and are usually shared between housemates. The SDA payment itself is paid by the NDIA to the provider for the enrolled dwelling and never comes out of your pocket.
Source: NDIS (Specialist Disability Accommodation) Rules 2020
Can I live on my own in SDA?
Yes, where that is the best fit for your needs. SDA is funded for homes with between one and five residents, and the pricing pays more per resident for smaller homes because that is what participants have said they want. Most people share a home with a small number of housemates and have a private bedroom, often with their own ensuite. Some of our homes are single resident villas with a separate room for overnight support staff, and the shared homes take two to four residents. You can also choose to share a room with a partner. Your occupational therapist's report should say which arrangement suits you, and the NDIA funds accordingly.
Source: NDIS pricing arrangements
Written by Khen Huynh, Director, Better Living Solutions, an NDIS registered SDA provider. Last reviewed 7 September 2026.
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.