Searching for STA and MTA on the Housing Hub

Short Term Accommodation (STA) includes Short Term Respite Accommodation which offers short term housing and support and Short Term Holiday Accommodation which only offers short term accommodation.

The housing listed under Medium Term Accommodation (MTA) can be paid for using a type of core support funding called MTA funding, which is available to some NDIS participants. Housing accepting MTA funding is typically available for up to 90 days and will only cover the cost of the housing and not the support.

To view all listings on the Housing Hub that are accepting STA or MTA funding please click here.

How STA & MTA Funding Works

When a person is waiting for their best long term housing option to be ready, they may need interim or temporary housing. The NDIS funding for this includes:

Overall

People with disability have the right to choose who they live with, where they live and how they live.

This means it’s really important for the person themselves, family, guardians, health and disability professionals, support provider agencies and housing provider agencies to do these 6 things. It might not be in this order, and with Covid-19 in our world, they might be done quicker than usual, but they all should be done:

1. Find out the person’s Housing and Needs and Preferences and the supports they need, which means really understanding their best long term housing option and their best long term support model
2. Record the person’s Housing and Needs and Preferences and the supports they need, in all important documents and keeping this at the forefront of all planning, searching and ideas
3. Search high and low for housing that meets the person’s Housing Needs and Preferences
4. Complete all the assessments and evidence that is needed for the NDIA to determine SDA, SIL (if some or all of the person’s supports will be shared and AT (Assistive Technology/equipment requests)
5. Consider if the person also needs an interim housing option, and include a request for funding (MTA, STA) for this too
6. Search high and low for interim housing that ideally meets the person’s Housing Needs and Preferences or, is a really good ‘temporary compromise’

Focusing on Number 5: Consider if the person also needs an interim housing option

When will a person need interim housing or temporary housing?

When a person is stuck in hospital and their long-term housing option is not currently available This could be because they are:

• Waiting home modifications
• Influenced by hospital timeframes. E.g at the moment there are significant bed pressures in hospitals
• Waiting for new build SDA to be ready
• Waiting for the NDIA to make decisions
• When a person is exiting the justice system
• When a person’s current living arrangement breaks down (emergency or crisis).

What NDIS funding is available for interim or temporary housing?

• Short Term Accommodation (STA)
• Medium Term Accommodation (MTA)

Short Term Accommodation (STA)

If the person needs short term housing, say for 2-4 weeks, then Short term Accommodation funding may be useful.  STA is usually:

• A period of respite
• Includes all expenses in a 24-hour period and includes assistance with self-care or community access, accommodation, food and negotiated activities
• Included in Core Budget of NDIS plan

STA is described as being used for a period of up to 14 days at a time. However, there have been examples where STA has been used for longer.

Medium Term Accommodation (MTA) funding

If the person is:

• waiting home modifications to be done or
• waiting for a vacancy to become available in the place where they want to live, and they have an offer for this place or
• waiting for a new build SDA to be ready, and they have an offer for this SDA or
• in hospital and is therefore in the exceptional circumstance of being at risk of contracting COVID-19 and is being forced to leave hospital (to free up beds for others who are medically unwell) and without a long term housing option at this time

In these situations, the NDIA may determine it reasonable and necessary to fund the person for Medium Term Accommodation (MTA) funding.

Minister Stuart Robert’s media release on 2 December 2019 announced the introduction of Medium Term Accommodation funding and talked about it being used for bridging housing for younger NDIS participants who are at risk of being admitted to aged care, or for those who wish to leave aged care, while they wait for home modifications or identified specialist disability accommodation (SDA).  It is also for participants who are ready to leave hospital but are waiting for disability-related home modifications to be completed on their house or for a vacancy or for their new build SDA to be ready.  

The funding that is available is described in the NDIS Support Catalogue as:

Medium Term Accommodation and covers the costs of housing.  The support component of the care to be claimed separately at the relevant time of day and day of week. This item can be used for periods up to 90 days (including COVID19 loading).

The current amount (27 March 2020) is : $138.92/day for National Non-Remote; $194.49/day for National remote; $208.38/day for National Very Remote (and all prices include a COVID19 loading). 

**Important note

When a person is in an exceptional circumstance and is discharged to interim housing without a long term housing option identified, it is essential to include a range of safeguards so that the person does not get ‘stuck’ in the interim housing option. These safeguards are things like:

• an interim NDIS Plan for 3-6 months at the most
• at least 2 hours per week of Support Coordination to explore housing options
• more than enough Core Supports budget in the NDIS Plan so that the person is very well supported in this less than ideal, interim housing option
• adequate Capacity Building Supports budget in the NDIS Plan so that the person can be supported to continue to build their skills and not deteriorate while they are in any interim housing option