SIL in plain English
SIL pays for support workers to help you with — or supervise — daily life tasks in your home. That can include personal care like showering and dressing, cooking and meal planning, cleaning and laundry, taking medication safely, managing money day to day, and building the skills to do more of these things yourself over time.
SIL is designed for people with higher support needs — typically people who need significant help throughout the day, every day, and often overnight support as well (either an active support worker overnight or a sleepover shift). It's most commonly delivered in a shared home where two or three participants split the cost of shared support, but it can also be delivered to someone living alone.
The key idea is that SIL funds the support, not the house. You might live in your own rental, a family home, or specialist disability accommodation — SIL is the roster of workers who come to you (or are based there around the clock), not the bricks and mortar.
What SIL funding covers
Every SIL arrangement is built around a roster of care — a week-by-week picture of the support you need, developed with you and agreed with the NDIS. Depending on your needs, SIL commonly covers:
- Help with personal care — showering, dressing, grooming and continence support
- Cooking, shopping and planning meals (and building those skills yourself)
- Help keeping your home clean and safe, and doing laundry
- Support to take medication safely and attend to day-to-day health needs
- Overnight support — a sleepover worker or active overnight support
- Supervision and personal safety support at home
- Skill-building so you gradually do more for yourself
What SIL doesn't cover
This is where most confusion happens. SIL does not pay for rent, board, groceries, utilities or other ordinary living costs — everyone, NDIS participant or not, pays those from their own income. It also doesn't cover the cost of the building itself; if you need specialised housing because of your disability, that's a separate support called Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), which can appear in a plan alongside SIL.
Day-to-day activities outside the home — like community access, day programs or transport to appointments — are usually funded through other parts of your Core budget rather than SIL. Therapy (psychology, OT, physio) is funded separately again, under Capacity Building. A good provider will help you understand which bucket each support comes from — our guide to NDIS plan budgets breaks this down.
Who SIL is for — and who it isn't
The NDIS generally funds SIL for adults who need a significant amount of help at home every day, often including overnight. If you need a few hours of help a week — say, help with cleaning and a shower routine — you're more likely to be funded for in-home support hours from your Core budget rather than SIL.
If you'd like a more individually designed arrangement — living with a host family, or living alone with a mix of paid and informal supports — an Individualised Living Option (ILO) may fit better than SIL. We compare the two in SIL vs ILO vs STA.
How SIL gets into your NDIS plan
SIL isn't something you simply ask for at a planning meeting — the NDIS needs evidence. The usual pathway looks like this: you (often with a support coordinator) talk to your planner about home-and-living goals; the NDIS may fund a home-and-living or functional capacity assessment; allied health reports set out the support you need across a typical week; a proposed roster of care is developed with your preferred SIL provider; and the NDIS then makes a decision about the SIL funding in your plan.
Reports matter enormously here. A thorough functional capacity assessment from an occupational therapist — covering what you can do independently, what you need help with, and the risks of not being supported — is usually the backbone of a successful SIL request.
Choosing a SIL provider
SIL is one of the most relationship-heavy supports in the NDIS — these are workers in your home, every day. Things worth asking any provider: Who will actually be on my roster, and how do you keep the team consistent? What clinical oversight sits behind the support workers — is there a Registered Nurse involved for health needs and medication? How do you handle compatibility if I'm sharing with housemates? What happens overnight and in an emergency?
Care Alliance delivers Supported Independent Living across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter with psychologist-led clinical governance, Registered Nurse oversight and a 24/7 on-call team behind every home. If you're exploring SIL — for yourself or someone you support — we're happy to talk through whether it's the right fit, with no obligation.
Common questions
Does SIL pay for rent or groceries?
No. SIL funds paid support in your home — it never covers rent, board, groceries or utilities. Housing costs are paid from your own income, and if you need specialised housing because of your disability, that's a separate NDIS support called Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).
Do I have to live in a group home to get SIL?
No. SIL is most common in shared homes of two or three participants because shared support is more economical, but it can be funded for people living alone where that's reasonable and necessary.
What's the difference between SIL and SDA?
SIL funds the support workers; SDA funds specialist housing for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. Some people have both in their plan, but they're separate supports assessed separately.
Can I choose who I live with in a SIL home?
Yes — compatibility is central to a good SIL arrangement, and you have a say in who you share with. A good provider will run genuine compatibility and meet-and-greet processes before anyone moves in.
This guide is general information about the NDIS, not advice about your individual situation, and scheme rules change over time. For decisions about your plan, check the current guidance at ndis.gov.au or talk to your support coordinator, planner — or call us on 1300 206 309.