We are a registered provider of the NDIS service and have Supported Independent Living homes in Western Sydney, from Parramatta and Blacktown out to Penrith and down to Liverpool. This page will help you understand how SIL works, the cost, who's eligible and what to look for before you commit yourself.
By March 2025, Australians had an approved NDIS plan, and the scheme continues to expand quarterly.
In Western Sydney, one of the nation's biggest clusters of people living with disability or developmental delay participate in the NDIS.
The nation paid about half of its core funding for daily activities, which is for supports related to SIL, in the year to June 2025.
Data from the NDIS Quarterly Reports (Q3 2024-25 and Q4 2024-25), as well as NDIA participant datasets.
Supported Independent Living (SIL) is a form of funding from the NDIS that is used to support the services you are receiving in your home, not to purchase your home. This is something that many families get wrong, so make sure to get this clear from the beginning. SIL workers help with activities such as showering, dressing, cooking, taking medication and learning to do these activities independently over time. Rent, groceries and electricity bills will be paid by you, just like it would be with anyone else.
In Western Sydney, most SIL is offered in shared houses of two to five people as sharing a roster of care makes the funding go further. One support worker could assist two or three housemates during the day and be on an active or sleepover shift at night. However, there are other models of shared living. Alternatively, if your plan can afford it, SIL can be provided in your own unit, and some participants may be better suited to an Individual Living Option.
One final thing that families ask is, “What's SIL and what it's not?” SIL is not an aged care residence and it's not an old-style group home. In most contemporary schemes, residents have rights of tenancy or occupancy, have their own schedules, and can switch providers without losing their housing. If a provider requires you to live with them in exchange for providing you support you can't reject, watch out for that.
Western Sydney is not a suburb, it's a region with a population of well over two million including around 28,500 people who are NDIS participants. It's one of the busiest NDIS markets in Australia, boasting over a thousand registered providers vying for attention. There are lots of great ones. Some are not. The volume is the very reason you should ask more precise questions here than anywhere else.
There are practical benefits to living in a SIL house in this area of Sydney. If you have complex medical needs or regular appointments with specialists, then this really makes a difference, and Westmead boasts one of the largest health precincts in the southern hemisphere. Living near work, being able to enrol at Western Sydney University or TAFE, and staying close to family without a support worker driving you to and from work, school or university, is made possible by the T1 Western Line and the new metro connections. Compared to the inner city, the housing stock here is newer, bigger and more likely to be truly accessible, with one level, wider doorways and level entries.
It's also a very multicultural part of the country and that influences good support. About half of all Western Sydneysiders speak a language other than English at home. We have support workers with Arabic, Vietnamese, Hindi, Mandarin, Filipino and Nepali speaking abilities; it's no small thing to be understood in your own language at 7am when you're getting ready for work. That's the difference between support and merely tolerated support.
But it's a real demand. NSW has the largest number of SDA funded participants with, at last count, some 7,700, with thousands still to be housed in suitable accommodation. Popular suburbs such as Blacktown and Parramatta can see their SIL positions filled up in a matter of days. If you're beginning your search, begin early and keep your support coordinator abreast.
The NDIA does not provide a set amount of SIL. Your funding is based on a week-by-week plan of what care hours you require, at what ratio, and at what times. It is written by your provider, reviewed with you and your support coordinator, and reviewed by the NDIA against your functional needs. The NDIA is very keen to look closely at rosters because nationally SIL is one of the largest single categories of NDIS spending. A quality provider will build yours with integrity, not adding time or cutting it short.
In general, the funding of SIL is divided into three bands:
Support may be offered in the morning and evening, and drop in during the day. This is typically not the level that includes overnight support.
The most common setup in Western Sydney SIL houses is a daytime roster divided into three or four full shifts across housemates, with a sleepover shift at night.
This band is best for participants who have complex medical, behavioural and/or physical support needs, and is often used in conjunction with SDA housing.
There are two facts of interest. One of the reasons shared houses are affordable is that they are billed at ratios like 1:2 or 1:3, one worker for two or three residents. Secondly, your daily living expenses are not part of SIL. The majority of residents receive the Disability Support Pension as their main income and many also receive Commonwealth Rent Assistance. We split the quote between the two clearly for families, because when we give a quote we don't want any surprises.
These acronyms are used interchangeably, and even within the sector. Here is the “layman's” explanation. Many participants use two of these at the same time, some do not use any and receive daily living support within the family home.
| Support | What it funds | Who it suits | Typical setting in Western Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIL | Paid support workers working to help you at home day and night, as agreed in a roster of care. | Adults who require a high level of daily care and support and wish to live outside of the family home. | Dwellings in suburban areas with 2-5 residents, such as Blacktown, Penrith and Liverpool. |
| SDA | Specialist built housing for very high support needs. | A small group (about 6% of participants) who are very impaired in their functioning. | Villas and apartments designed for the purpose, often close to the Westmead health precinct. |
| ILO | Individual living contract: host arrangements, co-residency and drop-in support. | Those who desire independence from same-house sharing, or who have strong informal supports. | Living within a host family, or in your own unit with a co-resident. |
| STA / MTA | Short Term Accommodation (STA), up to 14 days at a time (respite), and Medium Term Accommodation (MTA), up to 90 days at a time. | Carers who require a break, and/or participants between placements on a SIL or SDA. | Respite houses in the area; often the MTA provides a bridge from hospital to permanent housing. |
One that we see frequently: a young person experiences respite at STA, steps to MTA after hospital, and ultimately steps up to a permanent SIL house when the right housing vacancy and housemate appears. If this is you, then you will be able to go through each stage with one organisation and not have to retell your story to 3 different organisations.
Even those participants that have significant funding in other parts of their plan will not automatically have SIL included. Typically, the NDIA will pay for the cost of SIL for an adult (aged 18) with a permanent disability who requires substantial support to assist them with activities of daily living on a daily basis, including overnight, and for whom less intensive support would not be sufficient. They will review your functional assessments, the informal supports you can expect to have at home with your family, and whether you have the goal and the ability to develop independent living skills.
Typically, for families we work with in Western Sydney, this is how we work:
At your next plan meeting, or by requesting a meeting to re-evaluate your plan, discuss your home and living objectives. Be honest: explain that you are looking at supported independent living because the current arrangement is not sustainable.
The NDIA will require a recent functional assessment (typically an occupational therapist's report) as well as letters from treating professionals. Specific reports on day-to-day life are more credible than general ones.
The NDIA provides a judgement on whether SIL is reasonable and necessary for you and also on the amount of SIL if it is reasonable and necessary. This is the longest stage, give a few months and follow it up with your coordinator for progress.
Do not choose a SIL house based on pictures. We organise walk-throughs, meet and greet and in some cases a trial stay. Compatibility with housemates is the most important predictor of success, and the hardest thing to get right.
We prepare the weekly roster in conjunction with you, in writing, prior to your commitment. Read it. Question it. That will be welcomed by a clear provider.
The first 3 months will give you an idea of whether the match is successful or not. We arrange for a formal review with you, your family, and your coordinator, and make changes to the roster if there are changes in your needs.
Marketing is not the key to distinguishing a couple thousand providers, which operate throughout the region. All websites say they are “person centred.” This is what we would do if we were you, and yes, we'd be pleased to be held accountable to this list as well.
Ensure that the provider is registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission for SIL particularly, and ask when the last audit was. Registration numbers are public, ours is 4050164422.
What percentage of the shifts did agency people work last month? There are typically a lot of strangers when there is high agency use. Also ask about staff turnover; the truthful response is a strong indicator of conditions in the workplace, and workplace conditions are a reflection of service to residents.
Avoid providers who rush to fill a job position. A vacancy is NOT your emergency! The right question is not “Is there a room available?” but “Is it the right house for this person?”
If half the community speaks a language other than English at home, ask if workers with a similar cultural and language background can be rostered, not just available.
If you're interested in switching providers, read what will happen to you. You should be able to maintain your home and switch support. If you can't, ask why.
What other people live here, and how were they matched?
What kind of a day is a typical Tuesday, hour by hour?
What do you do when housemates disagree about something?
Can you show me the roster of care you would offer me?
What happened the last time a resident made a complaint?
Do you have overnight shifts here, sleepover or active?
Can I do a trial stay before deciding?
If a provider is upset at these questions then they have already answered them.
We have SIL accommodation and support services in the following suburbs and beyond. If the suburb you want is not on the list or no vacancy is available, it's because vacancies are moving fast and new homes are opening throughout the year, so if you want the home for a particular suburb just give us a call. We maintain a list of available openings and are able to recommend an MTA bridge while you are waiting. Looking for “SIL Providers near me” from all over Western Sydney NSW? It's likely we already have participants within a few kilometres of you.
There is no gap fee for the rostered care, the support is paid from your NDIS Plan. Your own expenses include normal living expenses (rent/board, food, utilities, internet, etc.). The majority of residents pay these from the Disability Support Pension, with additional Commonwealth Rent Assistance available to many. Both sides of the coin in writing before you make any decision.
No, this is usually the first question we get asked. SDA provides specialist built housing for a small number of participants who have very high physical support needs. SIL provides payment for the workers. The majority of people in Western Sydney in SIL houses are not living in SDA funded housing, but in ordinary (often adapted) rentals.
Yes. We do not rent any one into a home without a view. You will meet with the present tenants, dine together as a family (if you like), and hopefully try out an extended visit. If it isn't right, we look elsewhere. There's no point in rushing a placement, especially because mismatched houses create constant issues, which is not good for anyone, particularly us.
If funding for SIL is already in your plans, and we have an appropriate vacancy, a move may take place within a few weeks. If you're new to the process, the NDIA process of Home and Living will take a few months and a majority of that will be spent collecting assessments. The best you can do to reduce the wait is to start the paperwork early.
Care is not a fixed thing and the list of care is not finalised. As your support needs change we record this on the plan, collect any new clinical evidence, and ask for a plan variation. The more independent you become, the less you'll need, so the roster will be reduced. The whole idea of SIL is that it should work for you, not the other way around.
It may be, if the NDIA considers individual support is reasonable and necessary for you. However, the Individual Living Option (ILO) is a more robust option for many people seeking one-person living. We don't shack up with bias, and we'll tell you the one that's right for you, even if it isn't one that we're paid to be associated with.
Very likely, yes. Our Western Sydney staff speak Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali, Filipino, Korean, Greek, Italian and Spanish and we have staff for cultural and religious requirements, not solely language. Let us know what is important in your home and we will create a list of that.
From comparing SIL providers to waiting on a Home and Living decision to simply determining if SIL is the next step, a 10-minute phone call can get you a lot further than another hour spent Googling it. No pressure, no obligation and we'll let you know directly if we are not the right fit!
Or enquire online and we'll call you back within one business day.
1300 271 824
