How to get SDA approval for NDIS participants

inhousing is a socially minded landlord of inclusive rental properties, known as Specialist Disability Accommodation. Specialist Disability Accommodation provides a pathway to quality housing which improves lives, builds community and opens doors for people living with disability.

What is Specialist Disability Accommodation?

Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is housing that has been specifically designed for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. SDA includes accessibility features to enable people to live with greater independence and ensure that other supports can be delivered effectively and safely.

It is important to know that only a small number (around 6%) of NDIS participants will be eligible for SDA. If you are deemed not to be eligible for SDA, there are other home and living supports available through the NDIS that may help you achieve your desired home and living outcome.

How to Apply for SDA

Step 1. Include a housing goal in your NDIS plan

An important first step is to notify the NDIS that you wish to change your current housing arrangements. This is done by including a housing goal in your NDIS plan.

A housing goal should include the following information:

Why you want to move to a new home
Whether you wish to live alone or with other people
How you wish to be supported in your home
Where you would like to live

You can change your statement of goals and aspirations at any time by contacting your Local Area Coordinator (LAC) or NDIS Planner.

Identifying housing options and testing SDA eligibility requires significant input from many people. To support a participant in their pursuit of achieving a housing goal, the NDIS will generally include additional support coordination and capacity building supports in their plan. A Change of details or change of situation form may need to be submitted by the participant to request these changes to their NDIS plan.

Step 2. Gather evidence to support your request for SDA

The NDIS will want evidence to help them understand your needs and how Specialist Disability Accommodation will help you to:

Improve or maintain your ability to do things with less support.
Reduce or maintain your need for person-to-person supports.
Create better connections with your family, community, and health services.
Improve your opportunities for education and employment.

What evidence will they want?

Even though the NDIS does not specify what evidence it requires when considering a request for SDA, the following is usually needed:

Participant Housing Statement: This statement gives you an opportunity to clearly explain your housing preferences to the NDIS.
Functional Capacity Assessment: This is most commonly completed by an occupational therapist and outlines your functional and support needs, while addressing the SDA rules and eligibility criteria.
Other assessments or reports that may be relevant to your application. These can include allied health assessments, a Positive Behaviour Support Plan, incident reports and carer statements.
Home and Living Supporting Evidence form: This NDIS form is generally completed by your support coordinator after all assessments and reports have been compiled. It helps reflect the information obtained in the allied health assessments to summarise your daily support needs, current circumstances, housing history, and barriers.

Who can help me with this, and how?

Support Coordinator
Your support coordinator will work closely with you throughout the entire process. They can:

Help you communicate with the NDIS.
Help to arrange allied health assessments to determine your support needs or specialist housing design features.
Assist you to define your housing preferences.
Help you look for appropriate housing.
Support you to complete a Participant Housing Statement.
Summarise information from assessments and reports and complete the Home and Living Support Evidence Form.
Submit your Home and Living application to the NDIS.

Allied Health Professionals
Allied health professionals include:

Occupational therapists
Physiotherapists
Behaviour support practitioners
Psychologists
Rehabilitation counsellors
Social workers
Speech pathologists

They will work with you to:

Understand and assess your physical, cognitive and functional support needs and preferences.
Outline in detail if and how you meet the eligibility requirements for SDA.
Detail how other supports can be delivered in SDA and how SDA represents ‘value for money’ by potentially reducing your need for other supports.
Provide recommendations on the most appropriate SDA design category and building type for you to maximise your independence.

Step 3. Submit your evidence to the NDIS

Once all the required evidence has been compiled it can be sent to the NDIS. Your support coordinator will submit the Home and Living Supporting Evidence Form, along with your prepared evidence, to the NDIS. All submissions are sent to enquiries@ndis.gov.au – if you have an email address for your LAC or NDIS Planner you can copy them in on your submission.

The NDIS ask that A Change of details or Change of situation form also be submitted at this time.

Step 4. SDA Decision

The NDIS Home and Living Panel will review all information provided to determine appropriate home and living supports for you, including SDA funding.

If you are deemed eligible and approved for SDA funding, you should be provided with details of the decision. These details should include the following information:

Design category
Building type
Number of bedrooms
Number of residents
Location
With or without On-site Overnight Assistance (OOA)
Amount you are funded for

If the NDIS does not deem that you are eligible for SDA, or they do not agree to fund the design category or building type that was requested in your application, they should provide you with an explanation of the decision in writing to help you understand why.

You can ask the NDIS to review their decision. This can be done by completing a Request for a Review of a Decision form.