What is Supported Independent Living (SIL) under the NDIS?

Supported Independent Living, or SIL, is one of the most common NDIS supports for young adults who want to live more independently. It is also one of the most misunderstood. This guide explains what SIL actually funds, what it does not, how it is structured, and how to tell if it fits your family.

Key Takeaways

• SIL funds the support you receive while living in a shared home — help with daily living, personal care and building independence. It does not fund the building itself.
• SIL is delivered in shared homes with other participants, often (but not always) in Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).
• SIL is separate from rent, SDA funding, support coordination and respite — you can have one without the other.
• Suits young adults who want to live away from the family home with consistent, on-site support rather than around-the-clock clinical care.

Last updated: August 2026 | By Mo & Kaay Vig | 8 min read

What is Supported Independent Living (SIL)?

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Supported Independent Living, or SIL, is funding for the day-to-day support a person receives while living in a shared home. It covers help with cooking, cleaning, personal care, medication, and building everyday independence — and it funds the support, not the building. Under the NDIS, SIL sits in your Core Supports budget and is one of the main ways a young adult can live out of the family home with the right help around them.

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What SIL funds

SIL is funding for the day-to-day support a person receives while living in a shared home. That includes help with cooking, cleaning, personal care, medication, and building everyday independence. Importantly, it funds the support, not the house itself (NDIS, What is supported independent living?).

So a SIL budget pays for the workers who help your young adult through the week: the morning routine, meals, laundry, community access, and the skills that gradually reduce how much help they need. It is designed to sit alongside a home — it is not a housing payment.

SIL NDIS meaning: what SIL does not fund

SIL does not pay for the property. The home itself is covered separately, through rent, Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) for people with specialist housing needs, or private arrangements. You do not need SDA to receive SIL support in one of our Cranbourne homes.

It is also worth being clear about a few other things SIL is not:

• SIL is not 24/7 nursing care. If your young adult needs continuous clinical support, that sits in a different category, not SIL.
• SIL is not necessarily one-on-one support all day. It is funded flexibly — some needs are met in shared support, others one-on-one, depending on what is reasonable and necessary.
• SIL is not SDA. SDA pays for the accessible building; SIL pays for the people who support you inside it. They often appear together but they are separate budget lines.
• SIL is not respite. Respite, or Short Term Accommodation, is a short, planned stay away from home. SIL is the ongoing support arrangement for people living out of the family home.

How SIL is structured in an NDIS plan

Your young adult’s SIL support is worked out at plan time based on what they need across a typical week, and it is divided into three funding categories:

• One-on-one support — dedicated hours for personal care, meals or tasks that need individual attention.
• Shared support — active hours where a worker supports more than one person in the home at once, keeping costs efficient.
• Sleepover support — overnight presence for people who need support during the night.

Not every SIL plan includes all three. A young adult who is largely independent overnight, for example, may only need daytime one-on-one and shared hours. The right mix is the one that matches their assessed needs — not the biggest number on the page.

Is SIL right for your young adult?

SIL tends to suit young adults who:

• Want to live away from the family home with the right support around them
• Need help with daily tasks but not around-the-clock clinical care
• Have NDIS goals focused on building independence
• Can share a home with other participants — SIL is typically delivered in shared settings

If your young adult does not need that level of daily support yet, they may be better served by staying at home with community access and capacity building supports now, then transitioning to SIL at a later plan. SIL is a step; when it is the right time, it should feel like a step forward, not a leap.

How SIL gets into an NDIS plan

There is no separate SIL application in the way some families expect. SIL support is funded through the Core Supports budget when it is considered reasonable and necessary. Getting it right usually follows the same pattern:

1. Assess the support need. What help is genuinely needed each week — and which parts could be built down over time?
2. Document the evidence. Occupational therapy, behaviour support and functional assessments that show the daily assistance required.
3. Frame it around goals. A plan with measurable independence goals gives the funding decision a clear purpose.
4. Work with a provider. A registered SIL provider can help shape realistic support hours and confirm they can deliver them.

Because SIL budgets are set at plan time alongside other Core supports, the strength of your plan review matters. Our guide to tracking progress and preparing for NDIS plan reviews walks through building that evidence.

What good SIL support looks like

All SIL providers operate under the same NDIS rules, but the experience on the ground varies enormously. What separates good support is consistency:

• The same trained workers most weeks — not a rotating roster of unfamiliar faces
• Homes that feel like homes, in residential neighbourhoods rather than facility-style settings
• Support that actively builds independence — cooking, budgeting, community travel — rather than simply doing things for the person
• Founders who stay involved and know your young adult by name

Choosing the right provider is the biggest variable you control. Our guide to choosing an NDIS provider in Cranbourne shows you how to vet one properly before you commit.

SIL vs SDA: knowing the difference

This is the confusion we correct most often. SDA (Specialist Disability Accommodation) is funding for the home — the accessible, specialised property. SIL is funding for the support — the people who help inside it.

Your young adult can receive SIL without SDA, in a standard home adapted to their needs. Many of our Cranbourne homes work this way. And someone can live in SDA without SIL if their housing is specialist but their daily supports are met elsewhere. Treat them as separate decisions: one about where to live, the other about who is around.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does SIL funding cover the rent or the house?

No. SIL covers the support staff, not the property. Rent is paid separately — from the participant, family arrangements, Commonwealth Rent Assistance where eligible, or SDA funding where housing needs are specialist.

Can my young adult have SIL without living in SDA?

Yes. SDA is only for participants with specialist housing needs. Many people with SIL support live in standard homes that have been adapted to their needs. SIL and SDA are separate budget lines and each is assessed independently.

Is SIL one-on-one support all day?

Not necessarily. SIL is a mix of one-on-one, shared and sleepover support that matches assessed needs. Funding is about what is reasonable and necessary, not a fixed ratio of worker-to-participant time.

How is SIL different from respite?

SIL is ongoing support for people living out of the family home. Respite, funded through Short Term Accommodation, is a short, planned break in a supported setting. Many families use respite first, then transition to SIL when the young adult is ready for a bigger step.

Can we add SIL at a plan review?

Yes, if the support need and evidence justify it. SIL is funded through Core Supports when it is reasonable and necessary, so a well-documented review — with functional assessments and clear goals — is the right place to ask for it.

Is SIL the right next step?

Every young adult’s path to independence is different. For some, the next step is a bigger community routine at home. For others, it is moving into a small, consistent shared home with trained support around the clock.

If you are exploring supported independent living in Cranbourne, our homes are kept small and consistent, with trained, screened support workers on hand day and night. Get in touch and we will help you understand how it fits your plan — no pressure, no obligation.

For the full picture of how SIL and respite work together in one NDIS plan, our complete guide to Supported Independent Living and respite in Cranbourne brings both together. And to make sure the funding works as hard as it can, our guide to maximising NDIS funding for young adults is a good place to start.

Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and does not constitute individual plan advice. Always consult with your NDIS planner, support coordinator, or a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation.