An overview of providing supported independent living (SIL)
Supported independent living (SIL) is personal support for people with higher support needs who need some level of help at home all the time. This means they need the help of a support worker 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A SIL provider is responsible for helping participants with day-to-day activities within their home.
Types of support included in SIL
SIL is one of many NDIS home and living support options. SIL includes supports to help participants at home with:
- personal care tasks
- building skills in things like cooking, cleaning and developing a routine
- carrying out behaviour support plans
- developing social skills
- supervision and helping with personal safety and security
- medication management and medical appointments
- household budgeting or bill paying activities
- community access that isn’t routine or regular, for example support to complete personal tasks
- getting to and from community access activities, for example support to attend therapy sessions, or to visit family or friends outside of the home.
SIL doesn’t include day-to-day living costs that aren’t related to disability support needs, for example:
- the cost of groceries
- rent, board or lodging costs
- utilities such as gas, electricity, water, telephone or internet bills
- vehicle costs
- expenses related to holidays, including travel costs.
Regular SIL supports
Regular supports are what the participant needs on a regular day. These are planned with the SIL provider and delivered consistently.
Irregular SIL supports
Irregular supports include the hours of supports participants need for unexpected or unplanned situations. For example, a participant may get sick and need to stay home for a few days instead of attending a regular community group during the day. To cover these times when unexpected needs arise, we generally fund:
- 10 irregular support days per year for participants with standard support needs
- 15 irregular support days per year for participants with high intensity support needs.
Your responsibilities when providing supported independent living (SIL)
Understand how other NDIS supports work with SIL
It is important to understand SIL is different from other home and living supports.
SIL is usually claimed when participants live with housemates who also have NDIS funding and they share NDIS supports. For example, one disability support worker might support 2 participants within the home.
SIL may also be claimed for participants who need support to live alone.
While a participant may be receiving funding for other NDIS supports, only one support can be claimed across a 24-hour period. For example, if a participant is out in the community, this time would be covered under community supports in their core budget, not SIL.
Participants who receive funding for home and living support, including SIL, will typically also have NDIS funding for a support coordinator. Their support coordinator will help them find a suitable SIL provider. The support coordinator’s role includes talking with SIL providers about the support they can deliver within the participant’s plan funding.
Establish a service agreement
It is important to create a service agreement once you connect with a participant to outline your services as a SIL provider.
You should help participants to understand any service agreement using their preferred language, communication method and terms they can understand.
We recommend having a written service agreement so you and the participant are clear about what you have each agreed to.
Pricing and payments
There are 2 sets of hourly prices used for supports including SIL, based on needs.
These are:
- standard
- high intensity.
Most people will need standard support. Participants may need high intensity support if they need support workers with extra qualifications and experience to meet their disability support needs. This may be because they need high intensity support for daily personal activities or need complex behaviour supports.
Payment arrangements need to be discussed and agreed to by you and your participants. Services delivered must also be within the available funding for home and living supports.
Find more information about the NDIS pricing arrangements and price limits.
How to get paid
Getting paid as a SIL provider depends on the type of NDIS plan your participant has.
Learn more about how to claim for SIL supports.