Supported Independent Living (SIL) — A Complete Guide for NDIS Providers

What Is Supported Independent Living?

Supported Independent Living (SIL) is NDIS funding for the supports — not the housing — that allow a person with disability to live as independently as possible. SIL typically covers 24-hour or significant daily support in a shared or individual living environment, including:

• Assistance with daily personal care (showering, dressing, meals)
• Overnight support and sleepover shifts
• Community access assistance
• Household tasks and life skills development
• Health and medication management support

SIL is funded separately from the participant's home — housing may be funded through Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), private rental, or other arrangements.

How SIL Funding Is Calculated

SIL funding is based on the participant's support needs and is negotiated with the NDIA as part of the planning process. Unlike most NDIS supports, SIL is not self-managed or plan-managed — it is always agency managed (NDIA funded). The funding quantum is determined by:

• The participant's functional capacity and assessed support needs
• The number and type of support hours required daily
• Whether the participant lives alone or in shared supported accommodation
• Any specialist support requirements (complex medical, behaviour support)

SIL funding is typically quoted on a weekly basis and covers the cost of staffing the house, not the bricks and mortar.

The SIL Assessment Process

To access SIL funding, a participant requires a SIL assessment — either a Supported Decision-Making assessment or a Roster of Care prepared by the proposed SIL provider and submitted to the NDIA. The Roster of Care details:

• The specific supports the participant needs each day
• The hours of support required
• The ratio of staff to participants if shared accommodation is involved
• Any overnight or sleepover requirements

This process requires close collaboration between the SIL provider, the participant, the support coordinator, and the NDIA planner. It can take several months from initial assessment to approved funding.

What SIL Providers Are Responsible For

Registered SIL providers have responsibilities that go beyond standard disability support:

• 24/7 staffing. The house must be staffed or have appropriate supports available at all times. Staffing gaps are a safety and compliance failure.
• House governance. Policies and procedures for the specific house, including fire safety, emergency procedures, medication management, and visitor policies.
• Individualised support plans. Every resident must have a current support plan that guides daily care, captures their goals and preferences, and is reviewed regularly.
• Incident management. Every incident must be recorded, reviewed, and reported as required. SIL environments generate more incidents than community support simply due to the hours of contact.
• Behaviour support compliance. If any resident has a behaviour support plan, the house staff must be trained on it and the restrictive practices authorised within it.

Daily Documentation in SIL — What Must Be Captured

SIL generates significant daily documentation requirements. For each resident and each shift:

• Shift notes covering what care was provided and how the participant presented
• Medication administration records for every medication given
• Meal records — what was offered, what was consumed
• Personal care records — what assistance was provided
• Sleep records for participants with sleep-related behaviour triggers or health requirements
• Fluid intake for participants with relevant medical needs
• Any incidents or behaviour episodes
• Any follow-up actions required

For a house with 4 residents and 3 shifts per day, this is 12 sets of documentation per day. Managing this on paper or in spreadsheets is operationally unsustainable and creates significant compliance risk.

Shared Supported Accommodation — Billing Complexity

When multiple participants live in the same house, billing becomes more complex. Staff time must be allocated between residents according to their funding. If the house has 4 residents and one support worker on shift, how is that worker's time allocated to each resident's NDIS invoice?

The NDIA's approach to shared SIL funding is based on the Roster of Care — the allocation agreed during the assessment. Providers must bill each resident for their share of support as specified in that document, not simply divide costs equally unless equal division was agreed.

What a SIL-Ready Care Management System Needs

SIL operations require specific capability from a care management system:

• Multi-resident support — managing all residents in a house under one operational view
• Shift checklists — structured daily compliance documentation for each resident
• Medication administration records linked to each resident's medication list
• Sleepover shift recording and payroll calculation
• Incident management that captures incidents per resident with NDIS Commission notification tracking
• Behaviour support plan awareness — staff can see the current BSP for each resident at clock-in
• NDIS invoicing per resident from shared staff shifts