NDIS Guides

The Complete Guide to NDIS Home and Living Supports

Name: 1 Care Connect
Address: Rosehill, NSW, 2142, AU
Telephone: 1300 264 942

August 19, 2026

NDIS home and living supports cover everything from a support worker at home through to specialist housing built around your disability. The menu is longer than most people realise. It includes SIL, SDA, ILO, MTA, short term respite, onsite shared support and home modifications. This guide explains each NDIS home and living support in plain English. You will see who each one suits, and how to ask for it.

Quick summary

NDIS home and living supports each answer a different question: who supports you, where you live, or for how long.
SIL funds support workers in your home, up to 24 hours a day. SDA funds the specialist home itself.
ILO lets you design your own arrangement, such as living with a host or housemate.
MTA bridges a gap of up to 90 days while your long term home is not ready. Short term respite gives you and your carers a planned break.
Onsite shared support and home modifications round out the list, and both are easy to miss.
Funding decisions rely on evidence from your treating health professionals, and you can ask for a review if you disagree.

How NDIS home and living supports fit together

The easiest way to understand NDIS home and living supports is to sort them by the question they answer. Some pay for people: the support workers who help you day to day. Some pay for places: housing designed around your needs. Others pay for time: a short stay that bridges a gap or gives everyone a break. The NDIS lists the full set on its types of home and living supports page.

Because the supports answer different questions, many participants combine them. For example, a person might live in an SDA home and receive SIL support within it. The same person can still use short term respite a few times a year. Once you understand what each part does, your plan becomes much easier to manage.

Supported independent living (SIL): the people

Supported independent living is funding for a support worker to help or supervise you at home, up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The NDIS says SIL may suit you if you need someone to:

stay with you around the clock, including overnight
help you with daily activities for at least 8 of those hours
give some help or supervision the rest of the time.

Support workers help with tasks like showering, dressing, cooking and cleaning. Two limits matter. First, SIL cannot pay for rent, groceries or other everyday expenses. Second, SIL is about building skills, not just doing tasks for you. The stated goal is to help you live as independently as possible. We explain the basics in our guide to what is SIL. You can also explore how we deliver supported independent living across Western Sydney and beyond.

One recent change is worth knowing. From 1 July 2026, all providers delivering SIL must be registered with the NDIS. Existing providers have until 1 October 2026 to apply. Your plan and funding do not change because of this. Even so, it is a fair question to ask any provider where their registration stands.

Specialist disability accommodation (SDA): the place

Specialist disability accommodation is housing for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. It is the building itself. These homes are designed with features like wide doorways, wheelchair accessible kitchen sinks, ceiling hoists or button operated doors. SDA comes in four design categories: improved liveability, fully accessible, robust, and high physical support. Our explainer on what is SDA walks through each category in detail.

SDA funding pays the housing provider for the dwelling. It does not cover the support workers inside the home, which is why many people pair SDA with SIL. You still pay rent. However, the amount a provider can charge is capped by the NDIS through the maximum reasonable rent contribution. Our guide to SDA funding explains who is eligible and how the NDIS decides. If you are weighing the two supports up, our SIL vs SDA guide covers the differences one by one.

Individualised living options (ILO): design your own

Individualised living options fund you to choose where you live, who you live with and how you are supported. You might share your home with a housemate who supports you, or live in the home of a host. The NDIS says an ILO might be right if you:

are 18 or over, or 17 and planning your future living arrangements
need formal or informal support at home for at least 6 hours a day
are willing to invest time in creating the arrangement.

ILO comes in two stages. Stage one explores and designs the package. It is usually funded for between 30 and 100 hours of work with a provider. Stage two sets the arrangement up, with three parts. Primary supports are the people who live with you. Supplementary supports add extra paid or unpaid help, and regular monitoring checks the arrangement still works. ILO does not pay rent, everyday costs or home modifications.

Onsite shared support (OSS): help nearby when you live alone

Onsite shared support is one of the newer NDIS home and living options, and few people have heard of it. OSS provides unplanned support if you live alone in an SDA apartment. A support worker stays in a dedicated apartment in the same building, available 24 hours a day. The worker is usually shared between about 10 participants. Most of the time they can reach you within an hour.

The NDIS suggests OSS may fit if an average of 2.5 hours of unplanned support a day is enough for you. You also need to be able to call for help with technology, and to wait safely for up to 60 minutes. It is not for everyone. You will not get OSS if your plan already includes SIL, because the supports would overlap. OSS also never replaces emergency services.

Medium term accommodation (MTA): the bridge

Medium term accommodation funds somewhere to live for up to 3 months, or 90 days, in specific circumstances. The classic example: your SDA home has been approved but the vacancy is not ready. Another is waiting for home modifications to be finished. MTA can also help you leave hospital sooner while your long term home is sorted out.

MTA is a one off support. It covers the accommodation cost only, not food, electricity or personal care, and it is not emergency housing. Your other supports continue alongside it.

Short term respite: the planned break

Short term accommodation gives you time apart from your usual care arrangements while your family or carers take a break. The NDIS renamed it short term respite in October 2025. It is usually funded for up to 28 days per year, used flexibly. That might mean a block of up to 14 days, or one weekend a month. Funding covers your supports during the stay and standard accommodation such as a cabin, hostel or respite accommodation.

Eligibility centres on your informal supports. The NDIS links this funding to people who live with family, friends or a carer, and who receive disability related support from them for more than 6 hours a day. Our NDIS respite care hub explains how we run these stays with a nurse led team. For the full funding rules, read our guide to NDIS respite accommodation.

Home modifications: changing the home you have

Home modifications are custom built changes to your home so you can access and use it safely. The NDIS divides them into two groups. Minor modifications are straightforward and generally cost less than $25,000. Complex modifications affect the structure of the home, generally cost more than $25,000, and need approvals. Examples range from lever door handles and simple ramps up to lifts and major bathroom rebuilds.

A home modification assessor must recommend the changes, and the NDIS only pays qualified tradespeople. It will not fund swimming pools, cosmetic finishes, or making your house bigger.

How to ask for NDIS home and living supports

The NDIS sets out a three step process on its how to ask for home and living supports page:

Think about what you need. List your support needs, your goals, and the informal help you already have.
Talk to your my NDIS contact. They explain the options, including mainstream and community supports.
Provide your evidence. Reports come from treating health professionals, such as an occupational therapist. They should explain your daily support needs, what you can and cannot do, and which other options you ruled out and why.

The NDIS then reviews your request and tells you the outcome. If supports are refused, you will be told why, and you can request a review of the decision.

Which support answers which question?

Your situation	Support to explore
I need support workers at home, up to 24/7	SIL
I need a home built around very high support needs	SDA
I want to design my own living arrangement	ILO
I live alone in an SDA apartment and need unplanned help	OSS
My long term home is not ready yet	MTA
My carers and I need a planned break	Short term respite
My current home needs changes to stay safe	Home modifications

Frequently asked questions

What are NDIS home and living supports?

NDIS home and living supports are the group of supports that relate to where you live and how you are supported there. The set includes SIL, SDA, ILO, MTA, OSS, short term respite and home modifications.

Can I have more than one home and living support at the same time?

Yes, where they do different jobs. SDA and SIL are commonly paired, because one funds the home and the other funds the support workers. However, some combinations overlap and are not funded together, such as OSS and SIL.

Does the NDIS pay my rent?

No. The NDIS states that, other than SDA, it does not fund housing. SDA funding pays the housing provider for a specialist dwelling. You pay rent and day to day living costs yourself, and in SDA your rent contribution is capped.

What is the difference between MTA and short term respite?

MTA is a bridge of up to 90 days while your long term home is not ready. Short term respite is a planned break of usually up to 28 days per year, designed to sustain you and your carers.

Who decides whether I get home and living supports?

The NDIA makes the decision based on your evidence, usually reports from treating health professionals like an occupational therapist. If you disagree with the outcome, you can request a review.

What evidence do I need for an NDIS home and living request?

Recent reports from treating health professionals. They need to explain your daily support and housing needs, and what you can and cannot do because of your disability. They should also cover which other options you explored and why those do not meet your needs.

Is there an NDIS support for living alone safely?

Yes. Onsite shared support places a shared support worker in your SDA apartment building for unplanned help, day and night. It suits people who do not have SIL in their plan. You also need to be able to wait safely for up to an hour.

How 1 Care Connect can help

1 Care Connect is a registered NDIS provider with a nurse led team working across Western Sydney and NSW. We deliver supported independent living, run SDA homes with current vacancies, and provide respite stays and in-home support. Trying to work out which NDIS home and living supports fit your situation? Call us on 1300 264 942 or send us a message, and we will talk it through in plain English.