About Individualised Living Options
An Individualised Living Option (ILO) is an NDIS support that lets you choose the home you live in and set up supports in the way that best suits you. An ILO is a package of supports that can help you live how you want in the home environment you have chosen. It’s not the home itself.
ILO supports let you to work out how you want to live, where you live and who you live with. There are lots of choices with ILO. You can share your home with friends or housemates. Or you might a Host arrangement or on your own with tailored support.
ILOs are funded in two parts. The first stage is all about exploring and designing the supports you would like. This will help you work out where you want to live, who with, what support you would need and who you want to provide that support.
The second stage is funding to put those supports in place. The supports depend on how and where you want to live and what you need. You can also include the support you get from friends and family, so everything works together how you want it to. The ILO support package can be changed if your needs change and will be designed to provide the safety, stability and flexibility you need.
We only look at funding the second stage once you have finished the first part and worked out what ILO supports would work for you.
Funds for ILO supports can’t be used for your rent or mortgage payments.
ILO: Our Guideline
The Individualised Living Options (ILO) Guideline explains what an ILO is, how it benefits participants, how we fund ILO supports and how you get ILO supports in your NDIS plan.
Read the ILO Guideline to learn:
- what is an ILO?
- is an ILO right for you?
- how do we fund an ILO?
- how do we decide if we can fund an ILO and how much funding to provide?
- how do you get ILO supports in your plan?
- what happens once you have ILO support in your plan?
What makes an ILO different
ILO supports are designed to work with other support you receive from the NDIS, your family, friends or other networks so that you can have a:
- sense of home and belonging
- connection with others
- safe and supportive lifestyle.
ILOs provide support for an in-depth exploration and design process which will identify home and living options for you. You will have a personalised and detailed home and living supports package.
There are many ways in which the package of supports can be designed. Some of these involve helping you to live in the community with housemates, or in Host arrangements (where you live in the home of a non-related person who provides in home disability related supports, household assistance, emotional support and a family environment).
All ILO packages have primary and supplementary supports that enable flexibility as both minor and more significant changes are required.
An ILO is not:
- a group home arrangement where individuals with disability are grouped together and supported and have not chosen who they live with
- a ‘placement’ where children and adults with disability are placed with a family or other people to ensure a roof over their heads
- a facility, hostel or other shared accommodation service
- a program of 1:1 rostered care
- standardised solutions where the individual is fitted into pre-existing, inflexible service options that do not take into consideration the specific needs of the individual.
How can ILO work? Read the ILO participant scenarios for examples of established ILOs: