What is supported independent living?

Supported independent living is one of the largest single line items in the NDIS, and one of the most misunderstood. Most of the confusion comes from a single point: people assume it pays for housing. It does not.

What SIL actually funds

SIL funds the support workers in a shared home. Help with personal care, medication, cooking, cleaning and laundry. Support to get out into the community. Supervision where it is needed, including overnight, either as a sleepover or as active support.

It sits in the Core supports part of a plan, under assistance with daily life. It generally applies where two to five people share a home, though the arrangement matters more than the number.

What you pay for yourself

Rent. Food. Electricity, gas, water and internet. Your own furniture. Contents insurance. Personal spending. In other words, what living anywhere would cost you.

This trips people up because the provider often coordinates some of these. A house may run a shared food kitty, for instance. That is a household arrangement, not NDIS funding, and you are entitled to see how it is calculated.

How the quote is built

Here is the part that surprises almost everyone: SIL is quoted for the household, not for you individually.

The provider maps a roster of care across a week, who is on, when, and at what ratio, including overnight, covering everyone in the house together. The NDIA assesses that roster against the assessed support needs of the residents, and funds each person's share of it.

Two consequences follow. First, who else lives in the house genuinely affects your funding, because a shared shift is shared. Second, a provider has a strong interest in the household being stable, which is why a careful provider is slow to fill a room.

Ask to see the roster, not just the total. A provider who will not show you how the number was reached is telling you something.

Whether SIL is the right support

SIL suits people who want or need support available in the home across the day, and who are comfortable sharing a house. It is not the only option.

Individualised Living Options funds an arrangement designed around one person, which may mean living with a housemate, with a host, or alone with drop-in support. It gives more control and asks more planning.

Plain in-home support in your own place, funded hourly, is the right answer for a lot of people who are told SIL is the next step. If you do not need support across the day, SIL is a heavier arrangement than you need.

SIL is not SDA

SDA is capital funding for housing built or modified to a specialist standard. SIL is the support delivered inside a home. They are assessed separately and most people with SIL do not have SDA, their house is an ordinary rental, and that is normal rather than a lesser outcome. The difference, set out properly.

Getting SIL into a plan

It is decided at a plan review and needs evidence, usually from an occupational therapist and your support coordinator, showing the level of support you need in a shared living arrangement. A provider cannot add SIL to your plan, and any provider who implies they can is overstating what they control.

Questions