In short. SIL funds the support, not the house. SDA funds the house, not the support. ILO funds a package you design around living the way you want. Most people asking about “NDIS housing” want one of the first two and do not know which. This tells them apart in plain words.
Why do these three get confused?
They get confused because providers talk about them as though they are types of accommodation. Two of them are not accommodation at all.
The clearest way to hold it in your head:
- SIL is people. Support workers, in a home, helping you with daily life.
- SDA is bricks. A physical dwelling that has been built or modified for very high support needs.
- ILO is a plan. A tailored arrangement you build around how you actually want to live.
You can have SIL without SDA. Many people do, in an ordinary rented house. You can have SDA without SIL, though it is less common. Some people have both, funded separately.
Supported Independent Living
What it funds: the support workers who help you with daily life in the home you live in. Showering, dressing, meals, medication prompts, getting out the door, keeping the household running, and overnight support where that is needed.
What it does not fund: your rent, your mortgage, your groceries, your bills. Those are everyday living costs and you pay them the way anyone does.
Who it usually suits: people who need help at home regularly, often daily, sometimes around the clock. It is common in shared homes with two or three residents, because sharing support hours makes higher levels of support affordable within a plan. It also exists in individual arrangements.
How the funding is worked out: through a roster of care, which is a document setting out who needs what support, when, and how many staff are required at each point in the week. The NDIA prices it from that roster. This is why “how much SIL funding will I get” has no general answer. It depends entirely on the roster.
What changed in 2026. SIL moved into mandatory registration. From 1 July 2026, providers delivering supported independent living must be registered with the NDIS Commission, and those already delivering it had to be registered or have applied by 1 October 2026. Delivering SIL unregistered on or after 1 July 2026 can breach the NDIS Act, with penalties including fines and imprisonment.
If you receive SIL, check your provider’s registration. It takes two minutes and we set out how in this guide. Source: NDIS Commission.
If SIL is the one you are actually asking about, our full guide to Supported Independent Living goes further into what it pays for, who it suits, and how the roster of care is built.
Specialist Disability Accommodation
What it funds: the dwelling itself. SDA is a payment toward housing that has been purpose built or substantially modified for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs.
What it does not fund: the support delivered inside it. That is SIL, or another support type, funded separately.
Who it suits: a small proportion of participants. SDA is deliberately narrow. Eligibility is assessed against specific criteria and it is not simply “I would like better housing”.
How it works in practice: SDA dwellings are enrolled with the NDIA before payments can be claimed against them. The provider of the housing is often a different organisation from the provider of your supports, and that separation is intentional. It means you can change your support provider without moving house, which is a genuinely important protection.
Design categories run from improved liveability through fully accessible and robust to high physical support. They describe what the building does, not what your support looks like.
Individualised Living Options
What it funds: a tailored package of supports built around how you want to live, rather than a standard service model. It usually has two stages: an exploration and design stage where you work out what the arrangement should be, and then the ongoing support itself.
What it looks like: it varies, which is the point. A host arrangement where you live with another household. A co-residency where someone lives with you. A blend of paid support and informal support from people already in your life.
Who it suits: people who do not want a group home, who have some informal supports around them, and who want more control over who is in their home and how the week runs. It generally requires more upfront design work than SIL and more willingness to build something from scratch.
Telling them apart, quickly
| You are asking about | The support is | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| Who helps me at home | SIL | Support worker hours in your home |
| The house itself, built for high needs | SDA | The dwelling |
| An arrangement designed around my life | ILO | A tailored support package |
A practical test: if the answer to “what would this money buy” is a person, it is SIL or ILO. If it is a building, it is SDA.
What should I ask a SIL provider?
If you are looking at supported independent living specifically:
- Are you registered for group 115, and can I see your registration number?
- Who else lives in the house, and how were they matched?
- How many staff are on at each part of the day, and overnight?
- What is your staff turnover like in that house?
- What happens if I do not get on with a housemate?
- What happens if I want to leave?
- Who is the person I call at seven on a Sunday evening?
The last one tells you more than the first six.
Common misunderstandings
“SIL means a group home.” It often is a shared home, because sharing support is efficient. It does not have to be. Individual SIL exists.
“I need SDA to get SIL.” No. Most people receiving SIL live in ordinary housing, rented privately or through community housing.
“My provider gives me both.” Sometimes, and it is worth understanding the arrangement. Where the same organisation owns the house and delivers the support, leaving the provider can mean leaving the house. That is not automatically a problem, but you should know it going in.
“ILO is just SIL with a different name.” No. ILO is designed and funded differently, with a separate exploration and design stage.
Where we sit
Serenica Support is registered for group 115, supported independent living, and we deliver it across Sydney. Our registration number is 4-LOHEV53 and you can verify it with the NDIS Commission on 1800 035 544.
We are not registered for Specialist Disability Accommodation and we do not hold enrolled dwellings, so we cannot help with SDA. We do not deliver ILO. If either of those is what you need, we will say so rather than stretch a SIL arrangement to fit, and we will try to point you toward someone who can.
The full list of what we do hold, with group numbers, is on our services page, and there is more on reading those numbers in NDIS registration groups explained.
General information only. This is not advice about your plan. For questions about your own NDIS plan and what it funds, speak to your support coordinator, your local area coordinator, or the NDIA on 1800 800 110. For concerns about a provider, the NDIS Commission is on 1800 035 544.
Not sure which one you are asking about? Describe how you want your week to look and we will help you work out which support it sits under, even if the answer is that we are not the right provider. Make a referral or call 1800 770 781.