On-site shared support (OSS) provides a significant opportunity for people with disability living in Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) apartments to increase control over their housing and support options and to lower the cost of their support.
Our recent research with SDA tenants, SDA providers and support providers found effective OSS arrangements provide NDIS participants with the foundation they need to achieve a range of goals related to housing, support, independence, community, social and economic participation.
Effective OSS also has the potential to provide high quality and cost effective shared support at a time when the costs of Supported Independent Living (SIL) are rising at a rate that threatens the sustainability of the NDIS.
Initial research indicates that co-located apartments integrated into mainstream developments have the potential to enable high-quality and cost-effective support that results in good outcomes for SDA tenants.
However, anecdotal evidence suggests there are a range of challenges with how this model is being funded and implemented.
“The research provided rich and amazing insights,” said Summer Foundation CEO Dr Di Winkler. “The next opportunity is to translate what tenants said into real world resources.
“We also need a clear framework for funding, designing and delivering high quality and cost effective shared support that is tailored to the specific needs of tenants on each site.”