What Is Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)?
Specialist disability accommodation (SDA) is housing funded by the NDIS for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. The home is built with features like wide doorways, ceiling hoists or strong materials so other supports can be delivered better or more safely. SDA pays for the home itself, not the support workers. Residents pay a capped rent and their own bills.
Who Is SDA For?
A small group of NDIS participants. The NDIA says most participants don't need to live in specialist housing, and SDA is for people whose needs can't be met by other home and living supports.
To get SDA funding, a participant has to have an extreme functional impairment or very high support needs, and SDA has to meet the NDIS funding criteria for them. The NDIA also looks at how SDA would work with the person's other supports, such as supported independent living (SIL). Our page on SDA eligibility goes through each test.
Other than SDA, the NDIS doesn't fund housing. Most participants own or rent their home, or live in social housing, and state and territory governments run programs for affordable housing and homelessness.
What Does an SDA Home Look Like?
It depends on the design category and building type in the participant's plan. From the outside, many SDA homes look like any other house, villa or apartment.
| Design category | Built for | Examples of features |
|---|---|---|
| Improved Liveability | People with sensory, intellectual or cognitive impairment | Walls and floors that are easy to see, clear lines of sight for support workers, few or no stairs |
| Fully Accessible | People with significant physical impairment, such as wheelchair users | Wheelchair access to external doors and outdoor areas, a basin usable seated or standing |
| Robust | People who need help managing complex behaviours | Very strong, durable materials, secure windows and doors, places for others to step away safely |
| High Physical Support | People with significant physical impairment who need very high levels of support | Structural provision for ceiling hoists, backup power, home automation and communication technology |
There are four building types for people new to SDA: apartments, villas, duplexes and townhouses, houses, and group homes of 4 or 5 residents. Some older SDA is in a fifth category, Basic. It only applies to older homes, and it's only in a plan when the participant already lives in Basic SDA or chooses to.
Looking for an SDA Home?
We'll connect you with a registered SDA provider who may have a home that suits.
What Isn't Covered by SDA?
SDA funds the home only. Support in the home, personal care and equipment are separate NDIS supports with their own funding.
- Personal care, like help to eat, shower or get out of bed
- Supported independent living (SIL), which pays for support workers in the home
- Individualised living options (ILO)
- Assistive technology
- Rent, food, electricity and other day-to-day living costs, which the resident pays
Many people living in SDA also have SIL funding. SDA funding pays the SDA provider for the home, SIL funding pays for support workers, and the resident pays the rent and bills.
Who Provides SDA?
Registered SDA providers. A provider has to be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and has to enrol each home with the NDIA before it can be used as SDA.
Once a home is approved, the NDIA calls it an SDA dwelling. New homes built since 1 July 2021 also have to meet the SDA Design Standard, certified by an independent accredited assessor.
The SDA provider gives you the home, not the support you get while living there. You can choose a different provider for SIL and your other supports, and the SDA provider has to let you change those providers at any time.
What Do SDA Residents Pay?
A reasonable rent contribution plus day-to-day costs like electricity. The NDIS pays the SDA provider the rest, up to the price in the participant's plan.
The maximum reasonable rent contribution is 25% of the Disability Support Pension, 25% of the Pension Supplement, and any Commonwealth Rent Assistance the resident gets. The rent has to be written in the service agreement, or in a separate rental agreement. Our page on SDA rent and costs explains how it works.
How Do You Find an SDA Home?
Start with the SDA design category, building type and location in the plan, then look for a vacancy that matches. The NDIA's SDA Finder lists some vacancies, but not all of them.
A support coordinator can help you look and talk to providers. You can also tell us what you need, and we'll pass it to a registered SDA provider with a home that may suit, one provider at a time.
Questions People Ask
What does SDA stand for?
Specialist disability accommodation. It's NDIS funding for housing built for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs.
Is SDA the same as a group home?
No. A group home is one of four SDA building types, with 4 or 5 residents. SDA can also be an apartment, a villa, duplex or townhouse, or a house, and some people live alone.
Does SDA include support workers?
No. SDA is the home itself. Support workers in the home are usually funded separately, often as supported independent living (SIL).
Do you pay rent in SDA?
Yes. Residents pay a reasonable rent contribution to the SDA provider, capped by the NDIS, plus their own day-to-day costs like electricity.
Can you live alone in SDA?
Sometimes. The NDIA can fund SDA for someone to live alone if that's the best option for their needs and it meets the NDIS funding criteria.
Keep Reading
- SDA eligibilityWho is eligible for SDA funding under the NDIS: extreme functional impairment, very high support needs, the SDA needs requirement and the funding criteria.
- SDA design categoriesThe four SDA design categories: Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, Robust and High Physical Support.
- SDA apartments, villas and housesThe four SDA building types: apartments, villas, duplexes and townhouses, houses and group homes.
- SDA vs SILSDA vs SIL explained: SDA is the specialist home, SIL pays for support workers in it.
- SDA rent and costsWhat SDA residents pay: the reasonable rent contribution, how the cap is worked out, board, bills, sharing a bedroom and paying extra for a higher value home.
- How it worksHow we connect you with an SDA provider, and what happens to your details.
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