Specialist disability accommodation is an NDIS initiative to fund the design and build of specialised properties to meet the unique and specific support needs of individuals living with disability.
SDA housing is customisable and individualized, making it possible for people with disability to live in a house, unit or apartment that enables them to achieve greater independence and receive support services such as supported independent living (SIL) services or independent living options (ILO).
While there is eligibility criteria for SDA funding, for those who are eligible, SDA housing offers them greater choice and control, and provides individuals with the opportunity to achieve greater independence at home.
How do I know if I am eligible for SDA?
NDIS participants who could be eligible for SDA housing are those who meet specific criteria with very high support needs and/or extreme functional impairment.
This is not a black and white set of parameters, but you should consider the following if you’re thinking about exploring whether SDA is right for you:
- You need more support than what your informal support system is currently providing
- You have explored other avenues like home modifications and found them to be insufficient for your needs
- You have challenging behaviors that can put others at risk, or would be better supported through living with less people
How can I get SDA approval?
This can be a complex and lengthy process, but here are the basic steps of the SDA journey:
- Undertake a pre-planning meeting with an NDIS provider, like Activ, to ensure you’re ready and have all the required documentation before your NDIS plan review meeting. Contact our friendly team to book in your pre-planning meeting today.
- Attend your initial plan or plan review meeting with the NDIA. At this meeting you will need to demonstrate that you require the previously mentioned level of support. Your plan then needs to have a housing goal included so that you can explore your eligibility for SDA housing.
- Collaboration needs to happen between your support coordinator and an occupational therapist, to develop an SDA-focused functional capacity assessment (FCA).
- This FCA then informs a report, written by specialist support coordinators, meeting the guidelines for SDA as set out by the NDIA. At Activ, we have a number of established relationships with specialist support coordination organisations, who are experts in developing these reports. Once developed, the report is submitted to the NDIA’s SDA Panel for approval. This panel is located in Victoria.
- Once the panel approves your housing plan, your support coordinator will connect you with an SDA and support services provider, like Activ.
For more information on the SDA journey, click here.
What does an SDA home usually look like, and how can it support me on my independence journey?
SDA houses are bespoke to the individual resident, meaning that they’re built to meet your unique and specific support needs, whilst appearing like any other house, so your home can blend into the community around you.
Modern and customisable, SDA homes have bespoke floor plans to suit the needs of people with disability, including things like wider door frames and wheelchair accessible bathrooms, and are fitted with assistive technology, enabling you to independently complete daily living tasks within your home.
SDA houses can offer you greater choice and control of where, how and who you live with, and will open doors for you to achieve greater Independence at home.
Take a look at Activ’s newest SDA offering in Geraldton!
What happens next?
There are many moving parts that need to come together before being approved for SDA housing.
Talk to Activ’s friendly Customer Engagement team to see how we can help you along your SDA journey and support you with our accommodation services.