Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is for people who require special housing solutions to help them live as independently as possible. It is designed for people who need a lot of support or whose disability has a big effect on how they live and how they do things at home.
Depending on the level of support required, an SDA property might be equipped with larger doorways, wider hallways and open living spaces, easy to access kitchen and laundry cabinetry, bedroom or bathroom aids (such as a hoist) or special technology including independent power solutions.
SDA can also have different support models available in the properties. The AHA model of support usually incorporate Onsite Shared Assistance, meaning someone is available 24/7, on-site but not necessarily in your home, for any emergency or ad hoc supports.
In a nutshell -if your disability makes it hard to live in housing that most people live in, then SDA may be for you.
Depending on the level of support required, an SDA property might be equipped with larger doorways, wider hallways and open living spaces, easy to access kitchen and laundry cabinetry, bedroom or bathroom aids (such as a hoist) or special technology including independent power solutions.
SDA can also have different support models available in the properties. The AHA model of support usually incorporate Onsite Shared Assistance, meaning someone is available 24/7, on-site but not necessarily in your home, for any emergency or ad hoc supports.
In a nutshell -if your disability makes it hard to live in housing that most people live in, then SDA may be for you.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) determines who is eligible to live in SDA. They will assess your application, and will also consider the future trajectory of your support requirements.
Typically, they look at whether an applicant has:
Extreme functional impairment – this means that even if your home has been set up to suit your requirements, you still need help with everyday activities such as getting out of bed, getting dressed, making meals or going out.
or
Very high support needs – this means that you need significant person-to-person support every day. Perhaps your parents have been providing support but may not be able to keep it up, or you’ve been living in a group or nursing home.
Once you have been deemed eligible for SDA funding, at a level and type that suits your wants and needs, our team will help support you to move into your new home.
Typically, they look at whether an applicant has:
Extreme functional impairment – this means that even if your home has been set up to suit your requirements, you still need help with everyday activities such as getting out of bed, getting dressed, making meals or going out.
or
Very high support needs – this means that you need significant person-to-person support every day. Perhaps your parents have been providing support but may not be able to keep it up, or you’ve been living in a group or nursing home.
Once you have been deemed eligible for SDA funding, at a level and type that suits your wants and needs, our team will help support you to move into your new home.
There are five types of Specialist Disability Accommodation: Basic, Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, High Physical Support and Robust. Each design varies based on the individual needs of the person.
There are also different SDA dwelling types: Apartments, Villa/Duplex/Townhouse, and Houses; and different configurations of bedrooms and SDA-recipient residents. For example, you might be funded to live in an apartment or villa on your own, or with 2 or 3 other people who also have SDA funding.
AHA offers single-occupancy (i.e. 1 person with SDA funding – you can still live with a spouse, child or family member of your choosing) High Physical Support SDA, which is completely accessible for wheelchairs; with no steps, wide doorways and bathroom and kitchen design to suit someone in both sitting and standing positions. This type of accommodation also includes emergency back-up power and can have ceiling hoists installed should a tenant need one. It also features an intercom and alert system that connects you to a support worker as well as special technology including voice activation which can be used to operate things like doors, lights, air-conditioning and blinds.
There are also different SDA dwelling types: Apartments, Villa/Duplex/Townhouse, and Houses; and different configurations of bedrooms and SDA-recipient residents. For example, you might be funded to live in an apartment or villa on your own, or with 2 or 3 other people who also have SDA funding.
AHA offers single-occupancy (i.e. 1 person with SDA funding – you can still live with a spouse, child or family member of your choosing) High Physical Support SDA, which is completely accessible for wheelchairs; with no steps, wide doorways and bathroom and kitchen design to suit someone in both sitting and standing positions. This type of accommodation also includes emergency back-up power and can have ceiling hoists installed should a tenant need one. It also features an intercom and alert system that connects you to a support worker as well as special technology including voice activation which can be used to operate things like doors, lights, air-conditioning and blinds.
The NDIS determines if you qualify for SDA. If you’re eligible, they will cover the costs of the bricks and mortar. SDA payments are included in your NDIS plan and are paid directly to your SDA provider.
There are additional costs that you need to pay too, which are not funded by the NDIS. Tenants living in SDA are required to make a ‘Reasonable Rent Contribution’ or ‘RRC’. This means you pay the equivalent of 25% of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) to your SDA Provider, plus 100% of the basic rate of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance payment. The fortnightly rental payment does change slightly from year to year, in line with the DSP increase. In 2022/23 the amount is under $390 per fortnight for an individual, or $504 for a couple.
Additionally, tenants are responsible for other utilities such as water usage, electricity, internet, and other bills which may be associated with their SDA home.
The team at AHA can help you understand the costs relevant to the particular SDA location you’re interested in.
There are additional costs that you need to pay too, which are not funded by the NDIS. Tenants living in SDA are required to make a ‘Reasonable Rent Contribution’ or ‘RRC’. This means you pay the equivalent of 25% of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) to your SDA Provider, plus 100% of the basic rate of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance payment. The fortnightly rental payment does change slightly from year to year, in line with the DSP increase. In 2022/23 the amount is under $390 per fortnight for an individual, or $504 for a couple.
Additionally, tenants are responsible for other utilities such as water usage, electricity, internet, and other bills which may be associated with their SDA home.
The team at AHA can help you understand the costs relevant to the particular SDA location you’re interested in.
In order to add SDA to your plan, the NDIS must be sure that the service is a reasonable and necessary way of supporting you to reach your goals. Because of this, it is helpful if one of your goals in your NDIS plan is to “explore your housing options.”
The people who support you with your NDIS plan, such as a Support Coordinator and allied health professionals, are key to ensuring you have what you need to appropriately apply for SDA.
Generally, a functional assessment forms the basis of your SDA application. This assessment, provided by an Occupational Therapist, should outline your functional capacity and support requirements, and apply such to the eligibility criteria of SDA funding as per the NDIS Operational Guidelines.
Other supporting evidence can also be used, such as participant statements outlining your wants and needs, psychologist reports, nursing assessments, or other documents which help the NDIA understand what type of SDA would best cater to you.
Once you have this type of evidence collected, and it clearly outlines the type of housing that you require, the information is submitted with a Home and Living Supports Request form to the NDIA for assessment.
The AHA team can help to provide you and your team with an individualised and specific plan on how to apply for SDA funding, and support you to ensure that your application is clear and consistent on the right SDA for you.
The people who support you with your NDIS plan, such as a Support Coordinator and allied health professionals, are key to ensuring you have what you need to appropriately apply for SDA.
Generally, a functional assessment forms the basis of your SDA application. This assessment, provided by an Occupational Therapist, should outline your functional capacity and support requirements, and apply such to the eligibility criteria of SDA funding as per the NDIS Operational Guidelines.
Other supporting evidence can also be used, such as participant statements outlining your wants and needs, psychologist reports, nursing assessments, or other documents which help the NDIA understand what type of SDA would best cater to you.
Once you have this type of evidence collected, and it clearly outlines the type of housing that you require, the information is submitted with a Home and Living Supports Request form to the NDIA for assessment.
The AHA team can help to provide you and your team with an individualised and specific plan on how to apply for SDA funding, and support you to ensure that your application is clear and consistent on the right SDA for you.
Some SDA is designed to accommodate multiple people with SDA funding. This is often referred to as “Shared Accommodation”.
AHA focuses on single-occupancy SDA, meaning SDA that is designed for one person with SDA funding. However, this does not preclude you from living with other people of your choosing.
AHA properties are spacious properties where a person can live by themselves, or with other people they want to live with – such as a spouse, partner, or children.
If you would like to live with someone of your choosing, the AHA team can work with you to achieve this.
If the person with whom you would like to share your home also has SDA in their NDIS plan, the home you both live in will need to be designed and registered for multiple SDA occupants to be living in the same dwelling and each of you must have your own bedroom. AHA can link you with providers of this type of housing to assist you with finding the right home.
AHA focuses on single-occupancy SDA, meaning SDA that is designed for one person with SDA funding. However, this does not preclude you from living with other people of your choosing.
AHA properties are spacious properties where a person can live by themselves, or with other people they want to live with – such as a spouse, partner, or children.
If you would like to live with someone of your choosing, the AHA team can work with you to achieve this.
If the person with whom you would like to share your home also has SDA in their NDIS plan, the home you both live in will need to be designed and registered for multiple SDA occupants to be living in the same dwelling and each of you must have your own bedroom. AHA can link you with providers of this type of housing to assist you with finding the right home.
Under the NDIS, where you live and who supports you should be considered as separate things. As such, you are not locked into a particular support model by moving into an SDA property.
The AHA team works with you to help plan what your supports look like in your new home. At each AHA property, you are able to opt-in to the Onsite Shared Support (OSS) service.
OSS is a relatively new support type which is delivered to a group of tenants of a clustered SDA setting, and each tenant contributes a set amount of funding each week to have someone on-call for ad-hoc and emergency supports. This support is provided on a 24/7 basis, and does not replace or interrupt your ability to have any support provider or contracted Support Workers to do the more personal aspects of your care.
OSS is designed to work alongside your primary provider of supports, and helps to provide assistance outside of the times where you have drop-in supports (or be the 2nd pair of hands in any 2-person supports you may have).
AHA can help you understand how your care and supports costs would be provided whilst you are living in an AHA SDA home.
The AHA team works with you to help plan what your supports look like in your new home. At each AHA property, you are able to opt-in to the Onsite Shared Support (OSS) service.
OSS is a relatively new support type which is delivered to a group of tenants of a clustered SDA setting, and each tenant contributes a set amount of funding each week to have someone on-call for ad-hoc and emergency supports. This support is provided on a 24/7 basis, and does not replace or interrupt your ability to have any support provider or contracted Support Workers to do the more personal aspects of your care.
OSS is designed to work alongside your primary provider of supports, and helps to provide assistance outside of the times where you have drop-in supports (or be the 2nd pair of hands in any 2-person supports you may have).
AHA can help you understand how your care and supports costs would be provided whilst you are living in an AHA SDA home.
Those with a disability can have a hard time finding somewhere suitable to live. The first step to finding your right home is to think about what you want and need. It’s important to consider who you would want to live with, where you want to live (near family, friends, work or shops) and what types of accessibility features you might need. How much support you need will also play a factor in where you live.
Once you’ve answered those questions, you can start looking for the most suitable place to live.
Check out our SDA accessible home locations here. We focus on creating homes in everyday communities which provide residents access to local amenity, services and transport in desirable locations.
Once you’ve answered those questions, you can start looking for the most suitable place to live.
Check out our SDA accessible home locations here. We focus on creating homes in everyday communities which provide residents access to local amenity, services and transport in desirable locations.
Can I bring my own supports with me when I choose to live in an Accessible Homes Australia SDA home?
Yes, you can choose to bring your own existing primary support care when you live in one of our homes.
An Onsite Shared Support (OSS) provider is also appointed every 12 months by the SDA tenants, in each of AHA’s SDA locations, to provide back-up, on-site care support to all of our SDA tenants, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help you and your primary support carer as you need them.
An Onsite Shared Support (OSS) provider is also appointed every 12 months by the SDA tenants, in each of AHA’s SDA locations, to provide back-up, on-site care support to all of our SDA tenants, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help you and your primary support carer as you need them.
