NDIS Accommodation
August 01 2021

NDIS Accommodation

Confused about your housing options under NDIS? We know that understanding what is possible when it comes to living arrangements can feel like a maze. We’ve created this quick guide to help simplify your accommodation options when it comes to the physical property you live in and receive support from, so you can better understand how the NDIS can work to help you live comfortably.
Note: Confused about any of the terms you see or find littered across NDIS sites? We’re broken down common terms and acronyms for you here.

The Different Types Of NDIS Housing

The type of housing you live in will depend on the level of your needs, what is considered reasonable and necessary for you, your preferences, what’s available, and what you can afford or what funding you have. You can obtain all your funded support services, assistive technology and other customisations within any suitable type of home. This may be:

Standalone House

Standalone houses have more space, including a garden. They tend to be more expensive, so many participants choose to share a home to share costs

Townhouse, Villa or Duplex

These homes are connected to one another, making you quite close to your neighbours, and may have small enclosed yards.

Apartment

Apartment blocks can vary greatly in the number of units within a building. They tend to have balconies and be close to public transport. This is the most affordable option for a participant wanting to live alone.

Group Home

Group homes are shared by multiple participants who also share support services and support workers. You often don’t get to choose who you live with or who provides your supports.

Boarding Home

Boarding houses have rooms that are rented individually, but kitchen, living and bathroom facilities are shared. These tend to be larger than group homes.

Granny Flat

This is a small, self-contained unit on a property, separate from the main house.

Aged Care Facilities

Residential aged care facilities are options for older adults with complex disability needs, but are recognised as a poor housing option for younger people with disabilities.
Those with an asterisk are the most common housing types for participants aged under 65 years

Living In Your Own Home

If you currently live in your own home or your family home, you can stay living there, and have modifications made to your home as per your NDIS plan to keep your home fully accessible to you, promoting your independence and quality of life. Your supports will be carried out in your home.
If you have funding for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) in your NDIS plan (detailed below), then it is possible for you to use that funding to help buy your own SDA dwelling, making you a “self-provider” of SDA.

Renting A Home

If you do not own your own home, your options are to rent privately, or to access social or affordable housing options provided by your local government – not by NDIS. For most participants, their choice will come down to what they can afford to spend. Your home will then be modified with the supports you need, as set out in your NDIS plan.

Private Rentals

Give you the greatest choice of accommodation. You must go through the application process like any other prospective tenant, and the homeowner must approve your application for home modifications. As these modifications tend to only be paid for once by the NDIS, your privately rented home must meet certain criteria, like having a fixed long-term tenancy. Like any regular tenancy, at the end of your fixed period, your landlord may end your tenancy if they choose to.

Affordable Rental Homes

Rent for approximately 75% of the market rate. They are privately owned, with homeowners benefiting from incentives to rent them out at discounted rates under the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), which is set to be phased out over the coming years.

Social Housing

Offers the most affordable rent as you share costs with others. It also gives you the security of staying as long as you want, given you’re a good tenant, so you don’t have to worry about moving from home to home. Due to the housing shortage, when selecting social housing, the residence offered to you is based on your application and you don’t tend to get a choice of whether it’s a standalone house, a townhouse or an apartment.

Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)

SDA means that you are allocated a home that is fitted with the custom building features you need to help make movement and living in your home easier and manageable for you. This may look like anything from full wheelchair accessibility via ramps, including parking space for wheelchair entry and exit, to seats in the shower, sensor lighting and much more.
SDA homes can be apartments, townhouses, homes and group homes. It is possible to live by yourself or with others. When living with others, it can range from one resident up to six other residents. In some cases, you can live in a larger home or facility with more residents. Your NDIS plan will show the design category of your home, the building type, and the approved location, which determines how much SDA funding you get.
Not all residents living in an SDA home need to be receiving SDA payments or be NDIS participants. Changes to the rules in 2020 mean there are now more options to live with family members, partners or friends. Couples can now share bedrooms, and SDA homes can now have 5+ bedrooms to accommodate family members.
SDA homes include both existing homes that are modified to meet your needs, as well as newly built homes. SDA homes can be designed with one or more of the following four categories as a key focus:

Improved livability

These homes help participants with sensory, intellectual or cognitive impairments be able to access and use their homes to a comfortable and reasonable level. This may include using specialised contrast lighting and wayfinding provisions.

Full accessibility

These homes help participants with functional impairments move around their home without encountering restrictions from the home itself. This means accessibility through any internal and external doors, having bathrooms and kitchens be able to be used in either a standing or sitting position, automatic blinds and windows, and more.

Robustness

These homes prioritise the safety of the participant by building a home that has extra resilience measures to cope with heavy use. Aside from having a high level of physical access provisions, it may also feature extra security for doors and windows, high impact wall linings, laminated glass, soundproofing, blinds and the like.

High physical support

These homes keep participants with very high physical support needs comfortable and mobile in their homes. Aside from all the requirements in the ‘full accessibility’ category, these homes have additional structural provisions for things like ceiling hoists and wider doorways, come equipped with the assistive technology you need, have technology for communications, heating and cooling – and even cater for an emergency two-hour power outage.

Temporary Accommodation

There are two types of temporary accommodation options: medium-term accommodation (MTA) and short-term accommodation (STA).
MTA gives you a temporary home for up to 90 days while you’re waiting for your permanent home to become available or be built, and you cannot stay where you are or go somewhere else because of your disability support needs. It only covers the cost of the physical building you stay in and not your supports received during that time.
STA offers you a temporary home including your necessary supports for up to a few weeks. It can be used when your primary carer is sick, needs a break, or becomes suddenly unavailable. This keeps you supported and living in a safe, accessible home during this time.

What About Supported Independent Living (SIL)?

We haven’t mentioned SIL because this funding isn’t for a physical dwelling, but for the support services you receive inside your home that enable you to live an independent and full life. If you have SIL funding in your NDIS plan, you can use and organise these supports from any approved dwelling we’ve mentioned, in both shared and single occupancy settings, and regardless if you’re renting privately, living in social housing, or have SDA. Aside from helping you find the best home for you to thrive in, the National Disability Council can also organise your SIL services to ensure you get the best, optimised care.

Get Started With NDIS Accommodation

Ready to move into your new NDIS home but aren’t sure where to start? The National Disability Council helps simplify the NDIS for participants, offering a range of accommodation options, and specialising in helping get participants into their own fully customised homes.
Book a complimentary call with our accommodation experts here.