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What Is SIL? Supported Independent Living in the NDIS, Explained
SIL stands for Supported Independent Living. It is NDIS funding that pays for trained support workers to help you with daily tasks at home so you can live as independently as possible. SIL pays for the people, not the house. Rent, bills and food are paid separately by the participant.
SIL is usually delivered in a shared home with two to four people. It can also be delivered in a home you rent on your own if your support needs are high enough to justify it. Only providers registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission can deliver SIL.
Hilda Care is a registered NDIS SIL provider. Registration Number: 4050126032. We have homes across Melbourne with places open.
SIL at a Glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What does SIL stand for? | Supported Independent Living |
| What does it pay for? | Support workers in your home: personal care, meals, medication, household tasks, community access, overnight support |
| What does it not pay for? | Rent, bills, food, the building itself |
| Who is it for? | Adults who need support for all or most of the day to live at home |
| Where does it sit in a plan? | Core Supports, Assistance with Daily Life |
| Who can deliver it? | Providers registered with the NDIS Commission to deliver SIL |
| How is the amount set? | By a roster of care: hours, ratios and overnight support |
What SIL Covers and What It Does Not
SIL funding pays for the support workers who help you at home. It does not pay for the property or your living costs.
| What SIL Covers | What SIL Does Not Cover |
|---|---|
| Personal care including showering, grooming and dressing | Rent and property costs |
| Meal preparation and managing nutrition | Groceries and food |
| Medication prompts and health routines | Electricity, internet and household bills |
| Household tasks such as cleaning and laundry | Personal spending money |
| Getting to appointments and community activities | Home modifications or assistive technology |
| Building daily living skills at your own pace | Support at your workplace or school |
| Overnight support depending on assessed needs | Holiday or travel expenses |
Most participants cover their living costs through the Disability Support Pension and Commonwealth Rent Assistance. Before you commit to any SIL arrangement, a good provider will give you both figures in writing the weekly support cost and the weekly living cost estimate so you can see the full picture.
What SIL Is and What It Is Not
The NDIS definition is narrower than most people expect. It is SIL when you need support for all or most of the day, the support helps you live at home as independently as possible, and a registered provider manages and delivers that support for you.
It is not SIL if you only need a few hours of support a day or a week, or if you want to choose and roster your own support workers. Those are other types of support such as in-home supports or self-managed arrangements, and they are often the better fit for lower support needs.
What a Day in SIL Actually Looks Like
A typical weekday in a shared SIL home: a worker helps two housemates with showering and breakfast while a third, who is more independent, makes their own. Medication is prompted and recorded. One housemate is driven to a day program, another catches the bus to work with a worker the first few times until they can do it alone. The afternoon is shopping, a GP appointment and cooking together. Overnight, either a worker stays awake (active night) or sleeps on site and is woken if needed (sleepover), depending on what the plan funds.
The goal is never to do everything for people. It is to do less each month as independence builds.
SIL Compared With Other NDIS Home and Living Supports
| Support | What it pays for | Good fit when |
|---|---|---|
| SIL | Support workers in your home, most of the day | You need support most of the day and overnight |
| SDA | The building: a home designed for very high needs | You need a specialist designed property |
| ILO | A flexible, individual living arrangement | You want to design your own set-up |
| STA | Short stays including respite | Your carers need a break, or you are trying living away |
| MTA | Interim accommodation | You are waiting for a long-term home |
SIL and SDA are the pair people confuse most. SDA is the house. SIL is the support inside it. You can have both, and most people living in SDA homes do. See our SIL vs SDA guide for a full comparison.
Who Is Eligible for SIL
There is no list of qualifying diagnoses. The NDIA looks at how much support you need through a whole day and night, what you have already tried, the risks in your current situation, and whether SIL is the most appropriate way to meet your needs.
People in SIL commonly have intellectual disability, psychosocial disability, autism, acquired brain injury or physical disability. The diagnosis matters less than the evidence of daily need.
Signs SIL may be right for you: you need help most days with personal care or meals, you cannot safely be alone for long periods or overnight, family carers can no longer provide the level of support needed, or you are leaving hospital and cannot return home without support in place.
Signs it may not be the right fit: you need a few hours of support a day, you want to choose and manage your own workers, or your needs are mainly at one time of day.
For more detail on what evidence the NDIA asks for, see our SIL funding eligibility guide.
How SIL Is Funded
SIL funding is built from a roster of care. This is a document that sets out who needs support, for how many hours, at what ratio and with what overnight arrangement. Your provider prepares the proposed roster with you and your support coordinator. The NDIA reviews it and decides what is reasonable and necessary.
Sharing a home is how most SIL is funded, because a roster shared across three people costs less per person than three individual rosters. The NDIA uses support ratios when approving funding: one worker to one participant for higher needs, or one worker supporting two or three participants in a shared home.
The process usually involves a functional assessment from an occupational therapist, your support coordinator pulling together the evidence, and the NDIA reviewing the roster before confirming funding. Having the right documentation in place from the start helps things move faster.
What Changed for SIL Providers
Since 1 July 2024, every provider delivering SIL must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. SIL now has its own registration group and its own Practice Standards focused on participants’ rights and what good support looks like inside a home. Delivering SIL without registration is an offence under the NDIS Act.
What this means for you: before you sign with any provider, check them on the NDIS Commission’s provider register. Hilda Care is registered to deliver SIL. Registration Number: 4050126032.
Seven Questions to Ask Any SIL Provider
Before committing to a SIL arrangement, ask the provider these questions and see how they answer.
| Question | Hilda Care's answer |
|---|---|
| Are you registered to deliver SIL? | Yes. Registration Number 4050126032 |
| How many different workers will we see? | A small, consistent team matched to the participant, not a rotating roster |
| How do you match housemates? | Based on routine, needs and interests. We do a trial period before anyone commits |
| Is the overnight worker awake or sleeping? | Awake or sleepover depending on what the plan funds |
| What happens if needs change? | We review and adjust the roster with you and your support coordinator |
| What happens to the home if we change provider? | It depends on who holds the lease. We explain this clearly before you sign |
| How fast do you reply and how fast can someone move in? | Same-day reply. Most participants housed within 14 days of funding being confirmed |
FAQs About SIL vs SDA
Is SIL the same as a group home?
A shared SIL home is what most people mean by a group home, but SIL is the funding for the support, not the building. SIL can also be delivered in a home you rent on your own.
Can I choose my housemates?
You should have a real say. A good provider matches on routine, support needs, age and interests, lets you meet potential housemates first, and does not fill a vacancy with someone who is not a good fit.
How much SIL funding can I get?
There is no fixed amount. It depends on the roster of care the NDIA agrees is reasonable and necessary for your situation.
Does SIL cover rent?
No. Rent, bills and food are paid by the participant. If the home is SDA, the rent is capped at a reasonable rent contribution set by the NDIS.
Can I keep my home if I change SIL provider?
Often yes, because the home and the support are separate. It depends on who holds the lease. Ask your provider to explain this clearly before you sign anything.
How long does it take to get SIL approved?
It varies depending on your plan, the evidence available and how quickly the roster of care is prepared. Having the right documentation in place from the start makes a significant difference.
SIL Homes in Melbourne with Places Open
Hilda Care has SIL homes across Melbourne’s west, north and south east with rooms currently available, including Tarneit, Truganina, Point Cook, Greensborough, Frankston, Cranbourne and Dandenong.
Call 1300 440 777, and we will reply the same day. Support coordinators can submit a referral directly.
