Supported Independent Living (SIL) funds help or supervision for people who need support across 24 hours, including overnight. Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is housing designed for people with particular high-support needs. They are different supports with different evidence, and eligibility for one does not establish the other. A general FCA may contribute to either question, but it does not answer every part, so identify the pathway before booking.
Before booking, identify the specific pathway and what evidence is required. This can help avoid commissioning overlapping assessments.
SIL and SDA are different
Supported Independent Living, or SIL, funds help or supervision for people who need support across 24 hours, including overnight, where the relevant requirements are met. It is not the building itself or a general label for a few hours of help at home.
Specialist Disability Accommodation, or SDA, concerns housing designed for people who meet particular high-support or functional-impairment requirements. Eligibility for one support does not automatically establish eligibility for the other.
Home modifications and other home and living arrangements are separate considerations. A person does not have to be seeking SDA for the physical environment to be relevant to an assessment.
What functional evidence needs to explain
Useful evidence describes the activities, the assistance required and how needs vary across the day or week. It should distinguish active assistance, supervision and availability for unexpected needs.
Where overnight assistance is being considered, the assessment needs information about what happens at night, frequency, response requirements and the evidence supporting that account. A broad statement that someone needs constant care is not enough to explain the arrangement.
Existing records and relevant specialist assessments may be important. The report should identify the sources and any limitations rather than infer every detail from a general interview.
Consider the person's preferences and environment
Where and with whom a person wants to live matters. The assessment should not assume that a particular shared setting or level of restriction is the only appropriate option.
The environment may affect access, transfers, equipment or the way assistance can be provided. The necessary assessment depends on the question; it may involve an in-person visit, measurements, trials or specialist advice. A proposed home may not yet exist, so the limits of any recommendation need to be explicit.
What a Seeds FCA does not replace
The general telehealth FCA service does not automatically provide detailed home modification design, equipment prescription, an SDA design assessment or a specialist behaviour support plan.
Where those are needed, the relevant assessment should be identified. A restriction on a person's movement or access may also raise separate restrictive-practice obligations; it should not be treated as an ordinary recommendation without appropriate safeguards.
Coordinate before commissioning
Tell Seeds which decision is being considered, what reports already exist and which professionals are involved. Confirm the scope, method and fee before booking.
A general FCA may be useful, but it should not be purchased as a compulsory preliminary step when the receiving service needs a different assessment. The report's role is to answer the questions within its scope and identify those it cannot resolve.
Further information
- NDIA: What is supported independent living?
- NDIA: What is specialist disability accommodation?
- NDIS Commission: Understanding behaviour support