SUMMER
FOUNDATION
Inclusive disability housing, efficient support and better outcomes for NDIS participants in rural, regional and remote
Australia
The Summer Foundation submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS
23 February 2024
Over the past decade there has been a distinct lack of innovation in disability housing and support in Australia. The complexity of the NDIS system creates additional disadvantages and barriers for people with disability living in rural, regional and remote locations where there may be a lack of quality housing and supports available.1 This often means that NDIS participants in these locations are not able to benefit from the NDIA and are not supported to achieve their goals. These inequities make the NDIS less effective for them and often results in reduced support,misused or wasted NDIS resources and poor outcomes for NDIS participants and their families
The sustainability of the NDIS depends on innovation in service delivery, yet there is little known about how innovation in the sector will be realised. Relying on market forces to deliver innovation in housing and living has not worked. NDIA initiatives have also failed to deliver innovative and inclusive housing and living options.
Through the SDA Innovation Plan which ran from 2019 to 2021, the NDIA aimed to increase awareness of the transformation needed in disability housing and living supports and remove barriers to the adoption of inclusive and innovative models. Over the last few years the NDIA has also run demonstration projects to test innovative ways of delivering home and living supports. Yet there has been limited change and innovation in the way housing and living supports are delivered.2
A new approach is needed. Authentic collaboration between government and the sector will support innovation in cost-effective housing and living solutions that improve the outcomes of people with disability no matter where they live.
1 Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Working together to deliver the NDIS. NDIS Review: final report. 2 Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Working together to deliver the NDIS. NDIS Review: final report: Supporting analysis.
Summer Foundation submission on NDIS participant experience in rural, regional and remote Australia Page 1
Summer Foundation commitment
The Summer Foundation has been partnering with people with disability in the co-design, implementation and evaluation of strategies, to ensure the developed solutions systematically improve housing and living outcomes for people with disability.
Investment in new typologies of SDA
The SDA market is not developing the range of housing required to meet the diverse needs of NDIS participants in the places where they want to live. The Summer Foundation is co-designing and building a new, contemporary typology of disability housing to meet the needs of people who are missing out in the current SDA market.
Innovating shared support solutions in thin markets
While the availability of SDA funding has enabled innovation in housing, the way that support is delivered in disability housing also needs to be redesigned. There is tremendous opportunity to innovate more cost-effective, tenant centred models of shared support for NDIS participants living in co-located SDA. This opportunity is amplified in regional settings where additional barriers such as limited workforce availability, lack of training and limited choice of providers all compound the known challenges of achieving effective shared support in metropolitan settings.
The Summer Foundation is exploring and co-designing new models of governance that increase the agency of people living in disability housing. The Summer Foundation is also completing an independent evaluation of a new model of facilitation for SDA tenants sharing support.
Asks of the NDIA & federal, state & territory governments The Summer Foundation is calling on the NDIA and federal, state and territory governments to:
Build on existing work: Make use of emerging evidence provided by research, co-design output and local and international exemplars that demonstrate innovation and potential solutions.
Scale evidence based solutions: Work with the sector to evaluate, iteratively improve and fund potential solutions at scale.
Design alternative approaches to Supported Independent Living (SIL): Work with the sector to design new evidence based funding models that drive efficient, high quality support that are tailored to the specific needs and preferences of each NDIS participant.
The Summer Foundation looks forward to working with people with disability, governments and the disability sector to deliver quality, cost effective housing and living solutions that deliver good outcomes for people with disability and the scheme.
Summer Foundation submission on NDIS participant experience in rural, regional and remote Australia Page 2