How to Search for Housing
As a part of collaborative discharge planning, confirm amongst the stakeholder group who will complete which tasks in the search for housing and supports. A range of online platforms for disability housing are available including Housing Hub, Nest and the NDIS SDA finder.
If the listings don’t align with what you are looking for, a good strategy is to use the Housing Hub or NDIS provider finder to find local providers in the area. Contact the providers to ask if they have any options which have not yet been advertised, or to see if they can provide a custom solution.
Interim Housing
Interim housing is another term for ‘temporary compromise’ housing options. Interim options often use a person’s longer-term NDIS funding (eg. SDA, SIL, other) and meet many, but not all, of a person’s housing needs and preferences. Interim options need to be sustainable enough to last until a longer-term arrangement has been sourced.
In some cases, Medium-Term Accommodation (MTA) could be a suitable interim option, however MTA is only funded for 90 days.
Always consider if MTA is an efficient discharge option. For example, the onboarding and training of support workers takes considerable time, and this is usually required for discharge to MTA the same way it would be required for any option.
Top Tips and Tricks
- Search for the person’s ideal long term housing first. If this is available right now, this will make for a smoother discharge straight to long-term housing.
- A Housing Seeker Profile can be created on the Housing Hub to alert the person to new listings which match their needs and preferences.
- Think creatively using the person’s temporary compromises. For example, accessible AirBnB or holiday rentals can sometimes work.
Case Study
Eric required SDA High Physical Support housing. Unfortunately, there were no SDA vacancies in Eric’s preferred suburbs immediately available. There was, however, one new build in the area due to be completed in 6 months.
When the support coordinator contact the SIL provider for the property, they discovered the provider had similar vacancies in the area. The SIL provider offered a non-SDA vacancy (not yet advertised) in the same suburb that could meet Eric’s needs on a temporary basis, with a plan to transition to the SDA property once it was complete. Eric made a temporary compromise with using a mobile hoist for the duration of living in the interim property, but otherwise it met the rest of his needs and preferences. Eric will then use a ceiling hoist once he moves into the long term SDA property.
View the PDF version of the How to Search for Housing resource: