We aim to support participants and providers to better understand how they can effectively communicate about their needs and concerns, without fear of negative consequences.

This “Knowledge builder” gives examples of common issues that NDIS participants face in their NDIS-funded accommodation. The examples of how someone might approach each scenario are not in an order of priority and there is no correct answer - there are different options that reflect people’s different living circumstances. 

While it is not possible to cover every scenario that may occur, it is hoped the learnings from the scenarios below can be applied to people’s own experiences. These suggestions are also just a starting point for building culture, and there may be other ways to deal with different issues.

This “Knowledge builder” aims to provide best practice scenarios so that all participants, providers and supporters can see what an effective culture looks like, and make changes to reflect that. 

The scenarios below show what providers should be doing so that constructive and valuable feedback can be provided. However, some of the suggested options for learning more, may be followed up by a participant, or a provider, or both. If you are a participant and you are not receiving the support you need to be able to give feedback, please take a look at the Roles and Responsibilities page to see who you can talk to about this.

Where do I give feedback?

Jordan is living in an Improved Liveability SDA house with 3 other people. He wants to give feedback on a new support worker but has no idea where to send the feedback.

How could the provider have made feedback easier?

Select from the options below to learn more.

I don't get a reply!

Carrie lives in a Fully Accessible (FA) SDA apartment. She sent a complaint to her support provider 2 weeks ago because she wasn’t sent a roster for her support workers, so doesn’t know who will be supporting her and when. She still has not received a reply.

How could the provider have made feedback easier?

Select from the options below to learn more.

Poor Communication

Sam is living with a housemate in a High Physical Support (HPS) villa. She has made a complaint to her SDA provider a week ago about her cupboard that keeps jamming, and after being told they will look at it, she has heard nothing since.

How can the provider improve communication?

Select from the options below to learn more.

The provider doesn't respond to informal feedback

Jon lives in a robust SDA townhouse. When the manager of his support provider dropped by to check in with Jon, he mentioned that he didn’t like the way one of the support workers talked to him. Jon heard nothing back and the support worker’s attitude didn't change. Jon feels distressed and ignored.

What should the provider have done?

Select from the options below to learn more.

They don't consult us

Brenda lives in a High Physical Support apartment. She has onsite shared support at her SDA property which she shares with 9 others. The shared support company recently changed how the shared support is run, which resulted in 3 of their long term support workers leaving. The tenants weren’t consulted about these changes.

How could the provider have done this better?

Select from the options below to learn more.

Issues with support workers

Kelly lives in a High Physical Support SDA townhouse and uses a support provider for her 1:1 support workers. Lately a few of her support workers are causing Kelly to become distressed.

*Kelly has a team of support workers supporting her. This includes Marie, Julie, Vivian and Sally.

Regular complaints

Marie, one of Kelly's support workers, told her that her co-worker Julie keeps complaining about their colleague Sally. Julie also talks about how untidy Kelly is. Julie complains to Kelly directly about those things as well. It makes Kelly uncomfortable as she wants to live the way that is comfortable for her, and she likes the other support workers.

Being a counsellor

Marie has just gone through a breakup with her boyfriend and is miserable. She spends most of Kelly’s shift badmouthing her ex and crying. Kelly is spending hours giving Marie advice and nothing ever gets done on these shifts. Kelly doesn’t want to upset Marie any further by saying she has to get things done, but she is falling further behind in her chores.

Dictating the rules

Kelly likes to have a glass of red wine with her dinner, but a new support worker, Vivian, doesn’t like her having a drink. She says Kelly shouldn’t be allowed to drink alcohol and that she will need to check with her manager if she is allowed to give Kelly a glass of wine, as she believes it is against the provider’s rules. This upsets Kelly as there is a dignity of risk here and she should be allowed to do whatever she wants in her own home.

Not a workplace

Kelly has noticed that a few of her support workers are treating her home as their workplace and not her home. They leave their belongings laying around her house and a couple have decided that it’s ok to store their food and vitamins in Kelly’s cupboards without even asking her. Kelly feels like they have no respect for her and her space.

How can the provider ensure that the workers treat Kelly properly?

Select from the options below to learn more.

How open are we to feedback?

Jack is the CEO of a large SDA provider. Above everything else, his team prides themselves on creating great homes for people with disability, and being the best landlord anyone could ask for.

Mae is a member of Jack’s team. Recently, Jack overheard Mae on the phone to one of their SDA tenants. Mae was explaining why they wouldn’t be able to fix the issue the tenant was having in a way the tenant wanted it fixed. The information Mae was giving was right, but Mae’s tone was a bit harsh.

What should Jack do?

Select from the options below to learn more.

Who pays for this? 

Damien’s business is a registered SDA provider. One of their tenants, Jerry, called and said that the toilet in his SDA home is leaking all over the bathroom. Jerry is finding all the water very slippery and has almost fallen twice. Jerry is very upset that he is unable to use his bathroom and wants it fixed quickly. But Damien doesn’t know who is responsible for paying for the repairs and wants to find out first before anything gets fixed.

What should Damien do?

Select from the options below to learn more.

How involved should I be? 

Nic works for a new SDA provider. The provider’s first SDA tenants moved in about 4 months ago. Their first development is now almost fully tenanted, and they have a further 2 developments underway. The first few tenants Nic had contact with were new to SDA and were keen to get as much support as possible, so Nic acted as a go-between with the building management and onsite shared support, ran inductions on the apartment AT for tenants and support teams, and even helped carry boxes up from the ground floor for a tenant who was moving in on a day Nic happened to be onsite. 

Josh has just moved into one of the apartments, having previously lived in an SDA villa on the other side of town. Josh has been friendly, but seems to get annoyed whenever Nic tries to be helpful.

What should Nic do?

Select from the options below to learn more.

Back to the top

Interested in learning more about Solving Problems in NDIS Housing?

Was this article helpful?

We aim to support participants and providers to better understand how they can effectively communicate about their needs and concerns, without fear of negative consequences.

This “Knowledge builder” gives examples of common issues that NDIS participants face in their NDIS-funded accommodation. The examples of how someone might approach each scenario are not in an order of priority and there is no correct answer - there are different options that reflect people’s different living circumstances. 

While it is not possible to cover every scenario that may occur, it is hoped the learnings from the scenarios below can be applied to people’s own experiences. These suggestions are also just a starting point for building culture, and there may be other ways to deal with different issues.

This “Knowledge builder” aims to provide best practice scenarios so that all participants, providers and supporters can see what an effective culture looks like, and make changes to reflect that. 

The scenarios below show what providers should be doing so that constructive and valuable feedback can be provided. However, some of the suggested options for learning more, may be followed up by a participant, or a provider, or both. If you are a participant and you are not receiving the support you need to be able to give feedback, please take a look at the Roles and Responsibilities page to see who you can talk to about this.

Where do I give feedback?

Jordan is living in an Improved Liveability SDA house with 3 other people. He wants to give feedback on a new support worker but has no idea where to send the feedback.

How could the provider have made feedback easier?

Select from the options below to learn more.

I don't get a reply!

Carrie lives in a Fully Accessible (FA) SDA apartment. She sent a complaint to her support provider 2 weeks ago because she wasn’t sent a roster for her support workers, so doesn’t know who will be supporting her and when. She still has not received a reply.

How could the provider have made feedback easier?

Select from the options below to learn more.

Poor Communication

Sam is living with a housemate in a High Physical Support (HPS) villa. She has made a complaint to her SDA provider a week ago about her cupboard that keeps jamming, and after being told they will look at it, she has heard nothing since.

How can the provider improve communication?

Select from the options below to learn more.

The provider doesn't respond to informal feedback

Jon lives in a robust SDA townhouse. When the manager of his support provider dropped by to check in with Jon, he mentioned that he didn’t like the way one of the support workers talked to him. Jon heard nothing back and the support worker’s attitude didn't change. Jon feels distressed and ignored.

What should the provider have done?

Select from the options below to learn more.

They don't consult us

Brenda lives in a High Physical Support apartment. She has onsite shared support at her SDA property which she shares with 9 others. The shared support company recently changed how the shared support is run, which resulted in 3 of their long term support workers leaving. The tenants weren’t consulted about these changes.

How could the provider have done this better?

Select from the options below to learn more.

Issues with support workers

Kelly lives in a High Physical Support SDA townhouse and uses a support provider for her 1:1 support workers. Lately a few of her support workers are causing Kelly to become distressed.

*Kelly has a team of support workers supporting her. This includes Marie, Julie, Vivian and Sally.

Regular complaints

Marie, one of Kelly's support workers, told her that her co-worker Julie keeps complaining about their colleague Sally. Julie also talks about how untidy Kelly is. Julie complains to Kelly directly about those things as well. It makes Kelly uncomfortable as she wants to live the way that is comfortable for her, and she likes the other support workers.

Being a counsellor

Marie has just gone through a breakup with her boyfriend and is miserable. She spends most of Kelly’s shift badmouthing her ex and crying. Kelly is spending hours giving Marie advice and nothing ever gets done on these shifts. Kelly doesn’t want to upset Marie any further by saying she has to get things done, but she is falling further behind in her chores.

Dictating the rules

Kelly likes to have a glass of red wine with her dinner, but a new support worker, Vivian, doesn’t like her having a drink. She says Kelly shouldn’t be allowed to drink alcohol and that she will need to check with her manager if she is allowed to give Kelly a glass of wine, as she believes it is against the provider’s rules. This upsets Kelly as there is a dignity of risk here and she should be allowed to do whatever she wants in her own home.

Not a workplace

Kelly has noticed that a few of her support workers are treating her home as their workplace and not her home. They leave their belongings laying around her house and a couple have decided that it’s ok to store their food and vitamins in Kelly’s cupboards without even asking her. Kelly feels like they have no respect for her and her space.

How can the provider ensure that the workers treat Kelly properly?

Select from the options below to learn more.

How open are we to feedback?

Jack is the CEO of a large SDA provider. Above everything else, his team prides themselves on creating great homes for people with disability, and being the best landlord anyone could ask for.

Mae is a member of Jack’s team. Recently, Jack overheard Mae on the phone to one of their SDA tenants. Mae was explaining why they wouldn’t be able to fix the issue the tenant was having in a way the tenant wanted it fixed. The information Mae was giving was right, but Mae’s tone was a bit harsh.

What should Jack do?

Select from the options below to learn more.

Who pays for this? 

Damien’s business is a registered SDA provider. One of their tenants, Jerry, called and said that the toilet in his SDA home is leaking all over the bathroom. Jerry is finding all the water very slippery and has almost fallen twice. Jerry is very upset that he is unable to use his bathroom and wants it fixed quickly. But Damien doesn’t know who is responsible for paying for the repairs and wants to find out first before anything gets fixed.

What should Damien do?

Select from the options below to learn more.

How involved should I be? 

Nic works for a new SDA provider. The provider’s first SDA tenants moved in about 4 months ago. Their first development is now almost fully tenanted, and they have a further 2 developments underway. The first few tenants Nic had contact with were new to SDA and were keen to get as much support as possible, so Nic acted as a go-between with the building management and onsite shared support, ran inductions on the apartment AT for tenants and support teams, and even helped carry boxes up from the ground floor for a tenant who was moving in on a day Nic happened to be onsite. 

Josh has just moved into one of the apartments, having previously lived in an SDA villa on the other side of town. Josh has been friendly, but seems to get annoyed whenever Nic tries to be helpful.

What should Nic do?

Select from the options below to learn more.

Back to the top

Interested in learning more about Solving Problems in NDIS Housing?

Was this article helpful?