As a support coordinator (or CoS – coordinator of supports), you play a central role in facilitating great outcomes for people with disability.

You might also see first-hand the impact that unsuitable housing can have on a person’s wellbeing – as well as on the delivery of effective supports to that person.

At the Housing Hub, we want to work with you to achieve the best possible housing outcomes for the participants you are supporting. 

Below is some information and resources to help.

Searching for suitable housing

This Housing Hub website is a great place for your participants to start their housing search.

On the Housing Hub, you’ll find property listings for all support needs and timeframes, including:

• Shared Supported Accommodation (SSA; often called ‘group homes’ or ‘SIL housing’)
• Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) in various design categories and building types
• Medium Term Accommodation (MTA) and Short Term Accommodation (STA)
• Mainstream rentals

Housing and support under the NDIS

In the past, the provision of housing and supports to people with disability were often bundled together. While this worked for some people – and was efficient for many suppliers – it severely limits people’s choice and control. When housing and support are provided as a package, if a person is happy with their housing but unhappy with the support they are receiving, they must decide to put up with the unsuitable support to remain living where they are, or move to somewhere possibly less desirable to be better supported. A person who is unhappy with their housing but is well supported faces a similar problem.

Under the NDIS, housing and support are treated separately – they are funded separately, and it is expected that a participant can make changes to one without it affecting the other.

NDIS funding to look for suitable housing

For participants with high or complex support needs, the NDIA may provide capacity building funding to support their search for suitable housing. 

This Looking for Somewhere to Live guide from the Summer Foundation provides detailed information for people who want to access NDIS funding to support their housing search. This video explains how SDA is funded, while this video gives a quick overview of the process for assessing your participant’s eligibility for SDA funding.

Types of housing for people with disability

The NDIS provides funding for a range of housing options for people with disability to live independently in the community.

If you are supporting clients with high or complex needs, it is important that you understand what housing options are available to them.

The Housing Hub team runs regular NDIS Housing Options webinars for people with disability and their supporters. UpSkill is also available which offers NDIS training and resources for professionals assisting people with complex support needs. Or if you prefer, this self-paced online workshop explains the various options, including SDA.

Steps to SDA

The steps to getting SDA funding in a participant’s NDIS plan:

Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) can be life-changing for people. But getting SDA funded in a participant’s plan can be a daunting process, especially if it isn’t something you’ve done before. 

The above video breaks down the SDA process into a series of steps. The key is not to get overwhelmed – just take it one step at a time.

There is more detailed info about the SDA process here, as well as a useful series of FAQs here. You can also give our NDIS Housing Advice Line a call on 1300 61 64 63.

Presenting evidence for good NDIS outcomes

To fund SDA and other housing-related supports, the NDIA requires appropriate evidence.

The Summer Foundation’s Allied Health Housing Assessments guide has been written for Occupational Therapists (OTs) and other allied health professionals. It explains how to write reports for NDIS participants to achieve good housing outcomes, with an emphasis on writing reports for SDA outcomes. Give this guide to any allied health professionals who are writing reports as evidence for your participants.

If you are working with a participant who lives in residential aged care (RAC) or is at risk of admission to RAC (for example, a person who is unable to be discharged from hospital to their previous place of residence), they may wish to test their eligibility for SDA. This Participant’s Housing Statement guide (and associated template) will assist you as you work with them to test their eligibility. 

For other people who wish to test their eligibility for SDA, this How to Write a Housing Plan guide (and associated template) is more suitable.

Supporting young people to leave aged care

The Australian Government’s YPIRAC targets see:

• no people under the age of 65 entering residential aged care by 2022;
• no people under the age of 45 living in residential care by 2022; and
• no people under the age of 65 living in residential aged care by 2025.

This should be supported by all the systems including Health, Aged Care and NDIS.

The NDIS should be supportive of participants avoiding entry to aged care, and state are improving outcomes including specialised YPIRAC planners dedicated to participants living in or at risk of aged care (see NDIS YPIRAC Strategy).

Support coordinators and NDIS allied health professionals are integral in supporting people with complex needs to achieve good outcomes and live well in the community.

Below you will find information to help you support younger people with disability who are living in residential aged care or at risk of going into aged care:

Helping people to move out of a nursing home

Collaborative Support Approach Tool

Supporting a successful move into more independent housing

Moving from the family home, a group home or residential aged care into a home where you get to decide what you do and how you live is a big thing for most people. For many people with disability, effective support from their support coordinator is critical during this time.

The Summer Foundation’s Living More Independently is a guide to assist people to plan for such a move, then make it happen.

UpSkill

UpSkill is a capacity building program for support coordinators and allied health professionals. It includes:

Training – Regular training sessions are available for allied health professionals on topics such as writing reports for the NDIS, working with people in hospital and preparing evidence for SDA outcomes

Community of Practice – Provides a platform for professionals to engage with peers, access information and develop best practice approaches

Referral Directory – Refers young people in aged care (or at risk of entry to aged care) to appropriate professionals who have completed UpSkill training

Resources – Free online resources for NDIS support coordinators and allied health professionals

For more info about UpSkill visit upskill.summerfoundation.org.au or email upskill@summerfoundation.org.au

More info

You can find more information and resources here.

What's next?

Attend a free event

To find out about the range of housing options that are available to the people you support, register to attend one of our free events.

We will share information on many types of housing and you will have the chance to ask us your questions.