Living in and moving out of residential aged care

The NDIA is committed to making sure no NDIS participant under 65 years (under 50 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) lives in residential aged care unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The NDIA supports younger participants to have more choice and control over where and how they want to live.

Download the Easy Read YPIRAC fact sheet for more information:

There may be exceptional circumstances where a participant under 65 years may enter, or choose to continue to live in, residential aged care.

As part of the Department of Health and Aged Care's aged care assessment process, your support coordinator and the NDIA will help you to explore other home and living options.

They will also support you to provide documented evidence of what was explored.

This is to make sure you have considered all available suitable home and living options to meet your care needs.

If you want to continue to live in residential aged care, the NDIS will continue to support you through your NDIS plan.

You can choose to explore other home and living options at any time.

To start exploring other home and living options, contact your support coordinator or the NDIS.

The NDIA has a specialist YPIRAC team who can support you to explore alternative home and living options so you can continue to exercise choice and control over where and how you live, with the right funded supports.

If you want to move out of residential aged care, contact your support coordinator or NDIAs specialist YPIRAC team by emailing [email protected].

The specialist YPIRAC team and your support coordinator will work with you to help you explore and connect you with the most suitable home and living option to help you move out of residential aged care with the right supports.

There are different types of housing options available and depending on where you are located, these may include:

Options that are funded by the participants themselves

Private rental market

Private rentals may include opportunities listed in the newspaper, online, through real-estate agents and websites. It may also include sharing a home with others to reduce costs.
This option is self-funded by the participant.

Home ownership

Some participants may live in their own home, or look at purchasing a home.
This option is self-funded by the participant.

Options that may be funded by other non-NDIS programs

Public housing

This option is generally a longer term housing solution for people on lower incomes.
It is managed by state and territory governments, and there are usually long waiting lists.
Applications for public housing are submitted through local state or territory government offices, where rental contributions from an individual are approximately 25% of their household income.
This option is not funded by the NDIS, but may be supported through other non-NDIS programs.

Community housing

Community housing offers secure long-term and affordable housing options to individuals who may be disadvantaged in the private rental market.
It is managed by not-for-profit organisations, known as community housing organisations, such as The Salvation Army Australia or Community Housing Limited.
Generally, tenants pay similar rent to public housing tenants, which is around 25% of their household income, or the market rent for the property (whichever is lower).
In some community housing settings, there may be group sharing options, where tenants can have their own bedroom but share facilities like the bathroom, kitchen and laundry areas.
This option is not funded by the NDIS, but may be supported through other non-NDIS programs.

Shared equity

This is an option where the cost of purchasing the property is shared across different partnerships such as family, developers and housing co-operatives, etc.
Most state, territory and local governments support various housing initiatives to assist singles, couples or families with the costs associated with owning their own home.
This option is not funded by the NDIS, but may be supported through other non-NDIS programs.

Options that may be funded by the NDIS

Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)

A housing option the NDIS may fund is SDA. This is specialised housing designed to support people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs.
Usually this option is for participants who have very high mobility needs or have a disability that affects their ability to self care and make their own decisions.
SDA may include specialist designs for people with very high needs or may have a location or features that make it suitable for providing complex supports for independent living.
This option is funded by the NDIS.

Supported Independent Living

Supported independent living (SIL) is an NDIS support to help you live in your home.

It includes help or supervision with daily tasks, like personal care or cooking meals.

It helps you live as independently as possible, while building your skills.

Supported independent living is for people with higher support needs and who need some level of help at home all the time.

Individualised Living Options

An Individualised Living Option (ILO) is an NDIS support that lets you choose the home you live in and set up supports in the way that best suits you.

An ILO is a package of supports that can help you live how you want in the home environment you have chosen. It is not the home itself.

ILO supports let you work out how you want to live, where you live and who you live with.

There are lots of choices with ILO. You can share your home with friends or housemates or you might live in a host arrangement or on your own with tailored support

Personal Care Supports

You may also be able to access personal care supports to provide assistance with, or supervision of, daily personal activities like:

personal hygiene, including showering, bathing, oral hygiene, dressing and grooming
toileting, bladder and bowel management and menstrual care
eating and drinking
attending appointments
use of aids and appliances, hearing and communication devices
mobility and transferring, for example moving in and out of bed and on or off the toilet
application of splints, basic first aid due to injuries sustained as a result of a participant’s disability.

Talk to your support coordinator or NDIS planner for more information about personal care supports.

You can also visit the NDIS website for more information about reasonable and necessary supports.

When you decide to move out of residential aged care, contact your support coordinator or NDIAs specialist YPIRAC team by emailing [email protected].

While you explore your home and living options, the NDIA will continue to provide you with funded supports through your NDIS plan.

It can take some time to identify and source the right home and living option, depending on your needs and choices.

Some home and living options will need to be built or have changes made, so you can live independently with the right supports.

We will keep you informed about the progress of your home and living option so you are prepared and ready when it is time to move.

If you are an NDIS participant under the age of 65, we are committed to helping you avoid entry into residential aged care.

Your support coordinator and NDIS planner can help you explore and connect with other home, living and community support options that may be available outside of residential aged care.

If you think you may be at risk of entering residential aged care, it is important you contact your support coordinator or NDIAs specialist YPIRAC team by emailing [email protected]..

Your support coordinator and specialist YPIRAC team can work with you to identify an alternative home and living goal and support you to achieve that goal.

As a family member, carer or participant nominee, you can access more information about how you can support a younger person to avoid entry, or move out of residential aged care.

You can read Darryl’s story, a younger NDIS participant, who successfully moved out of residential aged care and is enjoying a more independent life.

You can also watch Andrew’s story, who also successfully moved out of residential aged care into his preferred age appropriate accommodation.

Our Guideline – Younger People in Residential Aged Care (YPIRAC) explains what we can fund and how we can support participants move out of residential aged care.
Home and living supports funded by the NDIS