SIL, SDA, STA and MTA explained

SIL: supported independent living

With SIL, the NDIS funds support workers to help with everyday tasks and building skills, usually 24 hours a day, so people can live as independently as possible. Most people with SIL share a home with a few housemates and share some of their support. It covers things like personal care, cooking and cleaning together, routines, medication and getting to appointments.

SIL doesn't cover rent, board, food, utilities or holidays, which residents pay themselves. SIL providers must be registered with the NDIS Commission.

SDA: specialist disability accommodation

Built for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs, SDA homes are only for NDIS participants who meet the SDA rules. SDA funds the home itself, not the support in it, which comes separately, often from a SIL provider. New SDA is built to one of four design categories:

• Improved Liveability: better physical access plus features for people with sensory, intellectual or cognitive disability.
• Fully Accessible: a high level of physical access, for example for people who use a wheelchair at home.
• Robust: strong, durable homes that keep residents and others safe.
• High Physical Support: for very high physical support needs, with features such as ceiling hoists and backup power.

SDA can be an apartment, villa, townhouse, house or group home. Residents pay a reasonable rent contribution: up to 25% of the Disability Support Pension and the Pension Supplement, plus any Commonwealth Rent Assistance.

STA: short-term accommodation

Short-term accommodation (sometimes still called respite, and briefly renamed short term respite in 2025) gives a participant time away from the family or carers who usually support them, so everyone gets a break. It's usually funded for up to 28 days a year, in stays of up to 14 days, and covers support and the accommodation, but not food, holidays or travel.

It's for people who live with, or get daily support from, family or other unpaid carers. It isn't crisis accommodation, and people living in SIL can't use it.

MTA: medium-term accommodation

MTA gives someone somewhere to live for a while when they have a confirmed long-term home but can't move in yet, for example while home modifications are finished or an SDA place is being set up, and they can't stay where they are. It's generally funded for up to 90 days and covers the accommodation only. People leaving hospital who are eligible for SDA, SIL, ILO or home modifications can get MTA without a confirmed long-term home.

Other options

Individualised living options (ILO) are another way to arrange support at home, designed around one person, for example living with a host or with family. ILO homes aren't listed on Home Connections. A support coordinator can explain which options suit someone's plan and goals.