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SDA Design Standard

The Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Design Standard (PDF 8.39MB) outlines the detailed design requirements for prospective SDA dwellings.

The SDA Design Standard has 4 design categories as set out in the SDA Rules (2020):

  • improved liveability
  • robust
  • fully accessible
  • high physical support.

The SDA Design Standard improves clarity about design requirements, provider confidence and compliance by giving:

  • participants access to high-quality housing
  • providers flexibility to respond to participant needs and preferences 
  • architects, builders and the community information about how housing for people with disability should be built. 

The SDA Design Standard was published in October 2019 and applies to all new and new build refurbished SDA from 1 July 2021.

SDA Design Standard certification 

All dwelling enrolment applications for newly built SDA must include SDA Design Standard certification.

This must be signed by an accredited third-party SDA assessor who is not an employee, associate or otherwise contracted by the provider, developer or owner. 

SDA assessors are engaged by the SDA developer, owner or provider to certify compliance of the dwelling with the SDA Design Standard.

The NDIA does not engage SDA assessors to certify dwellings.

An accredited SDA assessor is the only person who can issue SDA Design Standard certification. 

There are 2 stages of SDA Design Standard certification. All newly built SDA must be certified at the final as-built stage.

Dwellings may also be certified at the design stage before construction commences. Certification at this time is common market practice. It gives more certainty to providers that what they build will meet the minimum design requirements in the SDA Design Standard for the nominated design category. 

SDA Design Standard certification doesn’t mean that the dwelling will be enrolled as SDA.

The NDIA decides whether to enrol a dwelling when a SDA provider submits a completed application to enrol, after the dwelling is built.

The NDIA won’t enrol a dwelling if the provider and the dwelling don’t meet all of the requirements for enrolment under the SDA Rules at the time of the decision.

This is regardless of the Design Standard certification by the accredited SDA assessor, or previous assessment, feedback or certification provided by the NDIA or any other party. 

SDA helps to stimulate the market to produce high quality, contemporary, accessible, well-designed housing for participants who need SDA.

It’s the responsibility of the SDA provider to make sure the dwelling they submit for enrolment is suitable for specialist disability accommodation and fully and clearly compliant with all requirements of the relevant building type and design category. 

The SDA Design Standard does not apply to dwellings seeking enrolment as existing or legacy stock SDA. For information on requirements for existing or legacy stock SDA, go to enrolling a dwelling.

SDA design stage register

The accredited SDA assessor is required to lodge their certification with the NDIA. The certification includes their assessment of compliance against the SDA Design Standard.

It also includes a proposed building type for the dwelling.

The types are: 

  • apartment
  • villa/duplex/townhouse
  • house
  • group home. 

The features of each building type are set out in the SDA Rules.

Where there is any uncertainty as to whether the features are present, the NDIA encourages a conservative interpretation of the requirements.

For certification at the design stage, the NDIA records the details of the project on a design stage register.

Data from the design stage register is included in data releases to inform the market of the pipeline of work under development, noting that commercial in confidence or identifying information is protected.

Adding a dwelling to the design stage register doesn’t mean the dwelling will be enrolled as SDA, or that it will be enrolled as the same building type and design category as what is on the register.

SDA assessors

The list of all accredited SDA assessors is currently located on the LHA website .

Access Institute  delivers the only NDIA approved training course to allow qualified assessors to gain accreditation to assess plans and dwellings for compliance with the SDA Design Standard.

Anyone can do the course, however only specified professionals (architects, accesses consultants, occupational therapists and building surveyor) who meet certain requirements can become accredited SDA assessors.
 

This page current as of
17 January 2025