Moving Into SDA: Agreements, Rights and What to Sort Out First

What Has to Happen Before You Move In?

Three things: a written agreement, the provider recorded in your plan, and the NDIA knowing you've found a home.

1. Sign a written service agreement with the SDA provider, setting out both sides' roles and responsibilities.
2. Record the SDA provider in your plan as a my provider.
3. Tell the NDIA you've found a suitable SDA home, so the funding can be added and used from when you move in.

If you'll have SIL or other support in the home, that's a separate agreement with the support provider.

What Should an SDA Service Agreement Cover?

Where no state tenancy law applies, the NDIS Practice Standards list what the agreement should deal with.

• The rent, how and when it's paid, and receipts
• Any bond, and how it's managed
• Any board you've agreed to, and what it covers
• The minimum notice before rent or board goes up
• The provider's or agent's name, address and phone number
• The start date, how long it runs and how it can be extended
• When either side can end it
• At least 90 days' notice before you have to move out, unless shorter notice is needed to address a risk of harm
• How to ask for repairs and maintenance
• The home's fire safety features and evacuation procedures

The provider has to help you understand the agreement in the language and format that works for you, and give you a signed copy.

Which Tenancy Laws Apply?

It depends on the state or territory. The agreement has to meet any applicable residential tenancy law as well as the NDIS rules.

In Victoria, SDA residents usually have an SDA residency agreement under the state's renting laws. Consumer Affairs Victoria says residents with this kind of agreement don't pay a bond, rent can rise every six months, and the resident can end the agreement at any time by giving a notice of intention to vacate.

In other states and territories, ask the provider which law applies to your agreement, and check with your state's tenancy or consumer affairs agency if you're not sure.

What Are Your Rights Living in SDA?

The NDIS Practice Standards for SDA set out several protections.

• Your autonomy, including your privacy, intimacy and sexual expression, is respected
• You choose your support providers, and your SDA provider must let you change them at any time
• Your housing rights, including security of tenure, don't depend on your choice of support provider
• Your views are taken into account when vacancies in a shared home are filled
• The home is kept in good repair, with regard to safety, security and privacy

If something isn't right, raise it with the provider first. If that doesn't fix it, you can complain to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.