SIL vs SDA vs ILO What's the Difference?
Three of the most confused NDIS supports, and the source of a lot of housing headaches. The short version: SIL funds your support, SDA funds the home, and ILO funds a living arrangement designed around you. Here's a plain-English breakdown.
Support, home, or arrangement.
Each support answers a different question about where and how you live with disability-related support.
SIL
Supported Independent Living
Funds the support staff who help you live as independently as possible, in a shared home or your own place.
SIL service detailsSDA
Specialist Disability Accommodation
Funds the home itself: purpose-built or highly modified housing for very high support needs.
SDA service detailsILO
Individualised Living Options
Funds a flexible living arrangement designed around your relationships, preferences and goals.
ILO service detailsSIL vs SDA vs ILO at a glance.
| Comparison point | SILSupported Independent Living | SDASpecialist Disability Accommodation | ILOIndividualised Living Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it funds | The support workers in your home: daily living assistance, not the property. | The physical home itself: purpose-built or highly modified accommodation. | A flexible, custom support arrangement built around your life, not a building. |
| Who it suits | Participants who need regular, structured daily and overnight support. | Participants with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. | Participants with moderate, predictable needs who want more autonomy. |
| Funding category | Core Supports: Assistance with Daily Life (approved via a SIL quote). | Capital Supports: must be specifically included in your NDIS plan. | Core Supports / SIL funding; exploration & design under Support Coordination. |
| Can you combine it? | Yes. SIL is very often paired with SDA (support in a specialist home). | Yes. SDA funds the home; you still need SIL or other support funding for staff. | ILO is an alternative to SIL rather than combined with it, though it can be paired with SDA housing. |
What each support actually means.
SIL: Supported Independent Living
SIL funds the people, not the property. It covers personal care, meal preparation, medication administration, household tasks, building daily living skills, community access and overnight support. It's most commonly delivered in a shared home where participants share support workers, but individual arrangements are also possible. The NDIA approves SIL funding separately, based on a SIL quote your provider prepares.
- Funds
- Support workers and daily living assistance
- Suits
- Participants who need regular, structured daily support to live safely and independently
- Category
- Core Supports: Assistance with Daily Life
SDA: Specialist Disability Accommodation
SDA is funding for the home, not the support. It covers specially built or modified accommodation for participants with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs who can't be safely housed in standard properties. SDA homes are built to one of four design categories: Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, Robust, or High Physical Support. To access it, SDA must be included in your NDIS plan, which usually requires occupational therapist and allied health evidence.
- Funds
- The physical home: purpose-built or modified accommodation
- Suits
- Participants with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs
- Category
- Capital Supports: separate from SIL and other supports
ILO: Individualised Living Options
ILO is the most flexible of the three. It's a living arrangement built around you rather than around an existing service model. It might mean living independently with drop-in support, living with a host household, co-residency with a paid support worker, or a combination across the week. ILO involves an exploration and design phase first, then implementation. It generally suits participants with lower or more predictable support needs who have a strong sense of how they want to live.
- Funds
- A custom support arrangement, not a building
- Suits
- Participants with moderate, predictable needs who want autonomy over how they live
- Category
- Core Supports / SIL funding; design phase under Support Coordination
Can you combine them?
Yes. The most common combination is SIL and SDA. SDA funds a specialist home and SIL funds the support workers within it, so participants with very high needs are often approved for both. The two are applied for separately but delivered together. First Priority Care can provide the SIL support inside an SDA property.
ILO sits a little differently. It's generally an alternative to SIL rather than something layered on top of it, though an ILO arrangement can still make use of SDA housing where eligible. Whichever direction you're leaning, your support coordinator plays a central role in building the funding case.
Comparing this against SIL specifically? Read our deeper ILO service guide or our SIL service page.
NDIS housing, common questions.
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