Understanding your options
What is Supported Independent Living?
Supported Independent Living, usually called SIL, is NDIS funding for eligible disability-related support delivered in a participant’s home. It is designed for people who need significant help or supervision throughout the day and may include overnight support. The purpose is to help you live as independently as possible while building skills and maintaining safety.
SIL is the support provided by workers—it is not the house itself. Your NDIS plan, assessed support needs and agreed service arrangement determine what funded assistance can be delivered.
What SIL support may include
Your support schedule should reflect your approved funding, individual needs and goals. Depending on your plan and service agreement, SIL may include help or supervision with:
Personal routines
Respectful support with personal care, dressing and other approved daily activities, delivered with privacy and dignity.
Meals and household tasks
Assistance with cooking, cleaning, laundry and routines that help make everyday home life manageable.
Skills and independence
Practising routines, making choices, budgeting activities and building confidence to do more for yourself.
Safety and consistency
Agreed supervision, medication-related assistance within scope, personal safety routines and consistent communication.
Support begins with your voice
A SIL arrangement needs more than a roster. We start by listening to how you want to live, what support feels right, what you prefer to do independently and where assistance is needed. We also discuss communication, culture, privacy, personal safety, house routines and the people you want involved in decisions.
If Citywide Home Care is suitable for your needs, the agreed supports, schedule, roles, responsibilities and claiming arrangements are documented clearly before support starts. We keep checking in because routines and goals can change.
SIL, housing and everyday expenses are different
SIL funding does not pay for rent, groceries, electricity, water, phone, internet or other ordinary household expenses. It funds eligible disability-related support from workers in the home.
Supported Independent Living is also different from Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). SDA concerns specially designed housing for eligible participants; SIL concerns the support delivered by workers. A person may have both supports in their plan, but one does not automatically include the other.
For current general information, visit the NDIS explanation of Supported Independent Living .
Is SIL suitable for you?
The NDIS describes SIL as generally suitable for participants with higher support needs who require substantial assistance or supervision at home across the day, including overnight. Other home and living supports may be more appropriate when a person needs fewer hours of assistance, lives with people who are not NDIS participants or prefers a self-directed arrangement.
Your NDIS contact, support coordinator or other trusted adviser can help you understand the funding in your plan and compare available home and living options. Citywide Home Care can explain the supports we are registered to deliver, but we cannot decide what the NDIS will fund.
Starting a SIL conversation with Citywide Home Care
- Contact our team.Call 0485 505 599 or use the website enquiry form. Participants, nominees, families and support coordinators are welcome to enquire.
- Tell us about the participant.We discuss goals, daily and overnight support needs, living arrangements, preferred routines, location and the relevant NDIS plan.
- Confirm suitability.We review registration scope, staffing, risks, compatibility and current capacity before making any commitment.
- Agree on clear next steps.If we are suitable, we explain the proposed support arrangements and work through the service agreement with the participant.
Before deciding, review our checklist for choosing an NDIS provider in Western Sydney. It explains useful questions about registration, worker arrangements, service agreements, costs and complaints.
Supported Independent Living questions
Does SIL funding pay for rent and groceries?
No. SIL funds eligible disability-related support delivered in the home. It does not pay ordinary living costs such as rent, groceries, utilities or internet.
Is SIL the same as Specialist Disability Accommodation?
No. SIL pays for eligible support workers and assistance in the home. SDA relates to specially designed housing. Some participants may have both, but they are separate NDIS supports.
Does SIL always mean shared housing?
SIL is commonly used where participants live with housemates and share some supports. The NDIS may fund SIL for a person living alone in limited circumstances, while other home and living options may be more suitable for some people.
Are you accepting SIL enquiries?
Yes. Citywide Home Care is accepting new participant enquiries. Availability and suitability are assessed individually before any support arrangement is confirmed.
Which areas do you support?
We are based in Seven Hills and accept SIL enquiries from Blacktown, Parramatta, Liverpool, Penrith, Wentworthville and surrounding Western Sydney communities, subject to suitability and current service capacity.