Are you eligible for medium term accommodation?

Do you have a long term home you will move into?

A long term home is the home you expect to live in for the future, and it’s been confirmed you can live there.

For example, you might move to:

your own home, after your home modifications are finished
another home, such as a private rental property or social or community housing
a home where you’ll start receiving supported independent living or individualised living options
a home where you’ve been offered a tenancy for specialist disability accommodation, but it’s not ready yet.

We won’t fund medium term accommodation if we don’t have evidence you have a long term home to move into. We don’t fund long term rent, or provide affordable housing.

If you need affordable housing or need help looking for a new home, there are housing services available for you in your state or territory. You can also talk to your local area coordinator or support coordinator for help to find housing in your area.

How do you show us your long term home is confirmed?

You need to give us evidence your long term home is confirmed. To do this, you can give us:

a tenancy agreement offer from a specialist disability accommodation provider and you have enough funding in your plan to pay for it
a letter from a service provider confirming an offer of accommodation and support
evidence of approved modifications to your home or rental property, including the likely completion date
a tenancy agreement offer from a rental agency or landlord, or copy of your mortgage.

These are just some examples. If you’ve been offered a tenancy, but the property isn’t available yet, you’ll need to let us know the likely date you’ll move in.

When can you move into your long term home?

We only fund medium term accommodation if you can’t move into your long term home now because your disability supports aren’t ready.

For example, you might need medium term accommodation if you can’t move into your long term home until:

your assistive technology, like a ceiling hoist, is delivered and installed in your new home
your home modifications are completed
your confirmed specialist disability accommodation home is ready to move into – for example if you’re waiting for a vacancy you have been offered
you’ve been offered a place in a home where you’ll get supported independent living or individualised living options – for example, if you’re waiting for someone to move out of the home before you can move in.

You need to give us evidence of the date when you can move into your long term home, generally within 90 days.

If you can move in straight away or in the next 2-4 weeks, you probably don’t need medium term accommodation.

If you need support because of your disability to help you move home, let us know. Talk to your local area coordinator, support coordinator or planner to find out what supports we could fund to help you move. For example, we may fund short term accommodation instead.

Can you stay in your current accommodation while you wait for your long term home?

We only fund medium term accommodation if you can’t stay in your current accommodation while waiting for your long term home.

For example, you could give us evidence that:

you need to move out of your home while your home modifications are being completed
there’s been a breakdown in your supports, so you can’t live in your current home
you need to leave a residential facility, hospital, or custodial setting.

If you have a stable home now, we’d usually expect you can keep living there until you can move to your new home. For example if you’re living in your family home, it might be reasonable for you to keep living there until your new home is ready.

Examples

Example 1

Lee is 55 and wants to move from residential aged care into a home where he’ll be more independent.

Lee is eligible for specialist disability accommodation. He has a tenancy offer for a home he wants to move into, but it won’t be ready for him for another 2 months.

Lee gives us his tenancy offer as evidence of his confirmed long term home.

Lee can’t stay in his current accommodation of residential aged care as it doesn’t meet his disability support needs.

Because Lee meets all 3 requirements, he is eligible for medium term accommodation.

Example 2

Nhung is living at home with her family. Her parents are happy to provide her support at the moment, but Nhung is excited to move out and live in her own home. She is eligible for specialist disability accommodation, and will move into her new home in 2 months.

Nhung has a long term home confirmed that she can move into in 2 months. However, since she can stay in her current accommodation in the meantime, she isn’t eligible for medium term accommodation.

What if I am being discharged from hospital?

Medium Term Accommodation can help you move out of hospital sooner, while you find your long term home.

If you are being discharged from hospital and you are eligible for SDA, SIL, ILO or Home Modifications, you can have funding for Medium Term Accommodation added to your NDIS plan. You do not need to have a confirmed long term home.

If you need home and living supports added to your plan, NDIS health liaison officers and a hospital discharge team will work in partnership with you and your health treatment team to understand your disability support needs.

They will identify the best home and living supports for you. They will also help you to collect the evidence we need to make a decision about which home and living supports to include in your plan.

For more information about NDIS support for Hospital Discharge see Our Guidelines Mainstream and community supports interfaces.

What if I am being discharged from the justice system?

If you are in a justice setting and your expected release is coming up soon, or you are eligible for parole or on remand awaiting appropriate support in the community, we will meet with you to change your plan, so you have the reasonable and necessary supports you need when you’re released.

Your support coordinator will work with the justice liaison officer to support you to find the home and living supports that are right for you.

If you are eligible for Specialist Disability Accommodation and you’re being discharged from a justice setting, you can access Medium Term Accommodation if you need to.

You don’t need evidence of your long term home. For example, we don’t need a tenancy agreement for specialist disability accommodation before you can access Medium Term Accommodation.

Your support coordinator and justice liaison officer will also help you to get the evidence we need to decide what home and living supports to include in your plan.

For more information about NDIS Support for participants engaged with the Justice system see Our Guidelines Justice System.