Accommodation
and respite.

Respite, SIL and SDA: what's the difference

These supports sound alike but do different jobs.

• Short-term accommodation (STA), or respite: a short break of up to 14 days at a time, so your usual carers can rest.
• Supported independent living (SIL): ongoing help or supervision from support workers, around the clock, in the place you live. It pays for workers, not rent.
• Specialist disability accommodation (SDA): the housing itself. SDA homes are built for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. SDA does not include support workers, so some people have both SDA and SIL.
• Medium-term accommodation (MTA): somewhere to live for up to 90 days when your long-term home is not ready yet, for example while home changes are being made or when leaving hospital. It covers the accommodation only.

How respite and SIL can be funded in your NDIS plan

STA support items sit in the Core supports category Assistance with Daily Life. In newer plans, SIL is in a stated Core category called Home and Living. Older plans show it under Assistance with Daily Life. Whether you get funding depends on your plan and what the NDIA agrees is reasonable and necessary.

For STA, you usually need to live with your main unpaid carers, or get daily drop-in support from them. They must also give you more than 6 hours of disability-related support a day. You can use it in a block of up to 14 days, or a weekend at a time. Plan it so the funding lasts the length of your plan.

From 1 July 2026, providers claim STA in two parts: hours of support, and accommodation. STA funding cannot pay for holiday packages, airfares, food, meals, or activity and entry costs.

SIL may suit you if you need someone with you 24 hours a day, including overnight, with hands-on help for at least 8 of those hours. SIL does not pay for rent, groceries or bills.

SIL providers must now be registered

From 1 July 2026, providers who deliver SIL must register with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission). The NDIS says SIL can only be delivered by providers that are registered, or that applied to register before 1 October 2026. Your plan and funding do not change because of this.

If you choose and manage your own support workers, including their rosters, that is not SIL and the change does not affect you. Heart for Care is a registered NDIS provider (provider number 4050130206).

What to expect when you start

• You complete our intake and referral form.
• We agree a written service agreement with you before any support starts. It sets out the supports, costs, notice and how to raise concerns.
• We complete a risk assessment and a support plan with you.
• We match workers to your needs and preferences.
• We review your supports regularly, and sooner if your needs change.