NDIA Accountability Project

This project is in DRAFT

NDIS — FOI 25/26-1877: Notification of Decision

‹ PrevPage 1 of 4 · Source p. 7Next ›

Include specialist disability accommodation (SDA) funding for participants with no assessed SDA amount

This article provides guidance for an internal review delegate, participant support officer, payments officer, planner delegate, partner (non-partnered area), national reassessment delegate to:

  • understand SDA funding for participants with no assessed SDA amount.
  • consider when to include SDA funding for participants with no assessed SDA amount.

Recent updates

22 December 2023

New article to help you understand how to include specialist disability accommodation (SDA) funding for participants with no assessed SDA amount.

Before you start

You have read and understood:

  • Our Guideline – Specialist Disability Accommodation (external)
  • article Guide – Identify home and living solutions.

You have:

  • reviewed the participant record on SAP CRM.
  • identified the SDA line item has been included in the participant’s current plan.

FOI 25/26-1877

reviewed the participant’s housing application and determined there is no SDA eligibility decision completed.

reviewed Inbound docs in SAP CRM and confirmed there is no SDA panel decision completed.

Understand SDA funding for participants with no assessed SDA amount

Some participants may have SDA funding included in their plan, but the participant hasn’t been assessed for SDA under a home and living or SDA panel decision. This has caused inconsistency when transitioning plans from SAP CRM to PACE. This is due to the requirement to input a dollar amount in the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) support category.

There may be specific reasons why participants have SDA funding included in their SAP CRM plan without a home and living or SDA panel decision. These include:

  • the participant is living in an enrolled dwelling
  • the participant is not currently living in an enrolled dwelling.

Consider when to include SDA funding for participants with no assessed SDA amount

The participant is living in an enrolled dwelling

This guidance will help you understand and consider when to include SDA funding. This is for participants who are currently living in an SDA enrolled dwelling with no home and living or SDA panel decision.

If a participant was living in SDA when they became a participant, the NDIA recognise they will still be eligible under the bilateral agreement.

This is for participants still living in the same SDA that they were living in when they transitioned to the NDIS. We will continue to include the amount of the SDA enrolled dwelling in their PACE plan. To learn more, go to article Check the specialist disability accommodation (SDA) enrolled dwelling details.

— Page 8 of 64 —

FOI 25/26-1877

Note: If the participant was living in SDA when they became a participant and moved from that SDA, they are still eligible. The participant would need a home and living decision to work out the SDA amount that would meet their disability-related needs. To learn more, go to article Create and submit a home and living application.

The participant is not currently living in an SDA enrolled dwelling

This guidance will help you understand and consider when to include SDA funding. This is for participants who are not currently living in an SDA enrolled dwelling and have no home and living or SDA panel decision.

You will apply reasonable and necessary decision-making to remove the SDA funding from the PACE plan. This is if the participant has SDA funding included in their SAP CRM plan but have never lived in an enrolled SDA dwelling. For example, the dwelling is not currently, or has never been an enrolled SDA dwelling. We don’t consider these participants to be SDA-eligible under Transitional Arrangements.

Note: Please make sure you talk to the participant (or their authorised representative) and if applicable, inform the accommodation provider before removing SDA. For example, the supported independent living (SIL) provider. We want to make sure there is a mutual understanding that there is:

  • no current need for SDA

  • no pre-existing eligibility for SDA. If a participant has the SDA funding included in their SAP CRM plan, you’ll need to complete a home and living application. This is to determine the SDA assessed amount for the participant, if:

  • they were living in an enrolled SDA property when they became a participant

  • the legacy SDA dwelling is no longer enrolled. Next steps

FOI 25/26-1877

To create and submit a home and living application, go to article Create and submit a home and living application.

To add SDA funding into a participant’s PACE plan, go to article Add specialist disability accommodation (SDA) funding.

This document was released under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 by the National Disability Insurance Agency

Page 10 of 64