Individualised Living Options (ILO) represents a participant-directed approach to supported accommodation, offering maximum choice and control for people with high support needs. ILO challenges traditional group home models by putting participants at the center of design and delivery.

Key Points

  • ILO is a philosophy emphasizing participant choice in all aspects of living arrangements, not a separate funding category
  • You design your ILO including location, housemates, support model, and daily routines
  • ILO uses the same funding as traditional SIL (24/7 support funding through Home and Living budget)
  • Setup requires 12-24+ months of planning, property search, recruitment, and arrangement development
  • ILO suits participants wanting maximum control who can engage in complex planning process
  • Costs are similar to traditional SIL once established, though setup costs may be higher
  • ILO arrangements report higher participant satisfaction and better quality of life outcomes than traditional models

What is ILO?

ILO is an approach to supported living where you control the design of your living arrangement rather than fitting into pre-existing provider models.

Core ILO Principles

You choose where you live:

  • Select suburb, neighborhood, and specific property
  • Consider proximity to family, friends, employment, community activities
  • Choose property type (house, apartment, rural property)

You choose who you live with:

  • Select housemates from your circle (friends, family members with disability)
  • Or choose to live alone with dedicated support
  • Not assigned housemates by provider

You design the support model:

  • Determine support worker roles and routines
  • Participate in recruiting and selecting your support team
  • Define how support is delivered (active support, person-centered planning, specific methodologies)
  • Set household culture and values

You control daily life:

  • Your routines, not institutional schedules
  • Your preferences in meals, activities, sleep times
  • Your social life and community participation
  • Your personal development goals

ILO vs Traditional SIL

FeatureTraditional SILILO
Who designs arrangementProviderYou (with facilitator support)
Property selectionProvider’s existing housesYou choose property
HousematesProvider matches residentsYou select housemates or live alone
Support modelStandardized provider approachCustom-designed for you
Daily routinesProvider-determinedYou determine
FlexibilityLimitedHigh
Setup complexityProvider handlesRequires active participant engagement
Setup timelineImmediate (if vacancy exists)12-24+ months to develop
ControlModerateMaximum

Who ILO Suits

ILO is not for everyone. It requires significant planning capacity and willingness to engage in complex processes.

ILO Works Best For

Participants who:

  • Have clear preferences about living arrangements
  • Want maximum control despite high support needs
  • Can participate in planning process (or have strong family/advocate support for this)
  • Are willing to invest time in designing arrangement
  • Have support needs requiring 24/7 assistance (ILO is for SIL-level needs)
  • Feel traditional SIL models do not meet their needs
  • Value autonomy and individuality highly

Common ILO scenarios:

  • Friends with disability wanting to live together
  • Adult child with disability and parent(s) wanting customized shared arrangement
  • Participant with very specific cultural, religious, or lifestyle requirements
  • Person with complex support needs requiring highly specialized approach
  • Participant wanting to live in specific location not serviced by traditional SIL providers

When Traditional SIL is Better

Choose traditional SIL over ILO if:

  • You want straightforward access to established model
  • You prefer provider to handle complexity
  • You are comfortable with provider-selected housemates
  • You want to move quickly (waiting for vacancy is faster than developing ILO)
  • Planning and coordination burden feels overwhelming

Both traditional SIL and ILO are valid choices. Neither is inherently superior.

ILO Funding

ILO uses the same funding mechanisms as traditional SIL, not a separate budget category.

Funding Sources

Home and Living budget:

  • SIL-level funding for 24/7 support delivery
  • Typical funding: $180,000-$400,000 annually depending on support intensity
  • Covers support worker wages, rostering, management, training

Capital supports (if applicable):

  • Home modifications for accessibility
  • Assistive technology
  • Vehicle modifications

Capacity Building (during setup):

  • Specialist Support Coordination for ILO development
  • Therapy supports preparing for independent living
  • Training for participants and families

Funding Amounts

ILO funding matches traditional SIL amounts based on your assessed support needs. The difference is how funding is used, not the amount available.

Potential cost differences:

Setup costs may be higher:

  • Property search and lease negotiation
  • Custom arrangement design
  • Staff recruitment and training for your specific model
  • Facilitator fees during development phase

Ongoing costs typically similar:

  • Support worker wages are the same
  • Rostering complexity similar to shared SIL
  • Management and administration comparable

Some participants find ILO offers better value because customization reduces waste and improves outcomes.

Creating an ILO: The Process

Developing ILO takes 12-24+ months from concept to move-in.

Phase 1: Planning and Design (3-6 months)

Secure appropriate funding:

  • Ensure your plan includes SIL-level funding (or request this at plan review)
  • Add Specialist Support Coordination for ILO facilitation
  • Include setup supports in Capacity Building budget

Engage ILO facilitator:

  • Find facilitator experienced in ILO development (may be Support Coordinator with ILO expertise)
  • Work together to design your ideal arrangement
  • Document preferences, requirements, and goals

Design specification document:

  • Where you want to live (location, property type)
  • Who you want to live with (alone, with specific people, open to compatible housemates)
  • Support model preferences (active support, positive behavior support, specific approaches)
  • Daily routine and lifestyle preferences
  • Cultural, religious, or personal requirements
  • Community participation goals
  • Skill development priorities

Phase 2: Housemate Recruitment (if applicable, 2-6 months)

Finding compatible housemates:

  • Connect with other participants seeking ILO in your area
  • Attend NDIS participant social groups and networks
  • Ask Support Coordinators to link compatible participants
  • Use social media and community networks

Compatibility assessment:

  • Meet potential housemates and their families/supporters
  • Discuss lifestyle preferences, communication styles, interests
  • Assess support need compatibility (similar support intensity works best)
  • Trial shared activities before committing

Phase 3: Property Search (2-8 months)

Property requirements:

  • Location matching your preferences
  • Accessibility features (or capacity for modifications)
  • Sufficient bedrooms (one per person plus spare for support workers)
  • Space for communal living
  • Proximity to transport, services, community activities

Lease arrangements:

  • Individual leases for each housemate (preferred for autonomy)
  • Or joint lease with all residents named
  • Landlord approval for disability accommodation use
  • Modifications negotiation

Phase 4: Provider Engagement (2-4 months)

Find willing support provider:

  • Approach SIL providers open to custom arrangements
  • Explain your ILO design and requirements
  • Negotiate service delivery matching your specifications
  • Ensure provider has capacity to deliver your model

Alternative: Build your own provider team:

  • Directly employ support workers (requires self-management)
  • Engage sole traders or small providers
  • Higher control but significant management responsibility

Phase 5: Staff Recruitment and Training (2-4 months)

Participate in staff recruitment:

  • Help develop position descriptions reflecting your needs
  • Participate in interviews
  • Select workers compatible with your household
  • Ensure diversity in team to match interests and cultural needs

Custom training:

  • Train staff in your specific support preferences
  • Disability-specific training (autism, acquired brain injury, etc.)
  • Communication and behavior support strategies
  • Household culture and values orientation

Phase 6: Transition (2-6 months)

Gradual move-in:

  • Start with day visits to property
  • Progress to overnight stays
  • Extend to weekends
  • Permanent move when ready

Fine-tuning:

  • Adjust routines as you learn what works
  • Modify support worker shifts and tasks
  • Develop household agreements and protocols
  • Establish community connections

ILO Support Models

ILO arrangements can use various support delivery models depending on your preferences.

Common Models

Active Support:

  • Support workers actively assist you to participate in daily tasks
  • Focus on skill building and maximizing independence
  • Workers facilitate rather than do tasks for you
  • Evidence-based approach with strong outcomes

Person-Centered Planning:

  • Your goals, preferences, and strengths drive all supports
  • Regular planning meetings involving you, family, supporters, and workers
  • Flexible adaptation as your needs and goals evolve

Positive Behavior Support:

  • For participants with behaviors of concern
  • Proactive strategies building positive behaviors
  • Restrictive practices avoided or minimized
  • Behavior Support Plan guiding all interactions

Technology-Enhanced Independence:

  • Smart home systems for environmental control
  • Assistive technology reducing reliance on human support
  • Remote monitoring for safety with privacy balance
  • Apps and devices supporting communication and organization

Rostering Approaches

Consistent team:

  • Same small team of workers rotating shifts
  • Strong relationships and continuity
  • Workers deeply understand your needs
  • Preferred by most participants

Flex-rostering:

  • Larger pool of workers for coverage
  • Less continuity but better backup
  • Suits participants wanting variety

Live-in support:

  • Support worker lives on-site
  • Common in individual ILO arrangements
  • Requires clear boundaries and privacy protocols

Challenges and How to Address Them

ILO development faces predictable challenges requiring problem-solving.

Common Challenges

Complexity overwhelm:

  • ILO planning involves many decisions and coordination
  • Solution: Engage experienced ILO facilitator to guide process, break into manageable phases, accept imperfection and plan to refine

Provider reluctance:

  • Traditional SIL providers may resist custom arrangements
  • Solution: Find smaller, flexible providers, consider building own provider team, highlight that many providers successfully deliver ILO models

Higher setup costs:

  • Property search, recruitment, training, facilitation all require investment
  • Solution: Request setup funding in Capacity Building budget, accept gradual timeline reducing cost peaks, demonstrate long-term value justifying upfront investment

Housemate conflicts:

  • Living with others creates disagreements even when compatible
  • Solution: Establish household agreement upfront, regular house meetings for issue resolution, mediation support when needed, exit plans if incompatibility severe

Funding uncertainty:

  • NDIA may question ILO costs compared to traditional SIL
  • Solution: Provide detailed costings showing comparable ongoing costs, evidence from allied health supporting participant-directed approach, demonstrate traditional SIL cannot meet your needs

Rights and Responsibilities

ILO participants have both increased control and increased responsibilities.

Your Rights

  • Choose where you live within funding limits
  • Select housemates or live alone
  • Participate in staff recruitment and selection
  • Direct support delivery approach
  • Set household culture and routines
  • Change arrangements if not working
  • Access same NDIS protections as all participants

Your Responsibilities

  • Engage actively in planning and design
  • Make timely decisions to keep process moving
  • Contribute to housemate compatibility and conflict resolution
  • Participate in staff management and feedback
  • Communicate with facilitators, providers, and NDIA
  • Accept that customization requires investment of time and effort

FAQ

How is ILO different from self-management?

ILO is about accommodation arrangement design (where you live, with whom, what support model). Self-management is about funding administration (you pay providers and claim reimbursement). You can have ILO with plan management or NDIA management. You can self-manage without ILO. They are independent choices.

Can I do ILO if I am NDIA-managed?

Yes, though plan management or self-management offers more flexibility. With NDIA management, you can still design your ILO and choose property, housemates, and support approaches. However, you are limited to registered providers for support delivery.

What if my chosen housemate and I have very different funding levels?

This is manageable. Each person’s funding pays for their support needs. If one person needs overnight active support and the other needs sleepovers only, the higher-need person’s funding covers the active overnight worker and the lower-need person benefits from increased safety at no additional cost. Shared daytime support is often cost-effective for both.

How long does ILO last? Can it end?

ILO is ongoing as long as you want. You can continue indefinitely. If circumstances change (housemate moves, needs change, you want different arrangement), you can modify or exit ILO. Transitions out of ILO are easier than transitions into traditional SIL because you have established community living capacity.

What happens if a housemate wants to leave the ILO?

Remaining residents can continue with replacement housemate, adjust to fewer residents, or reconfigure entirely. The ILO does not end when one person leaves. Your funding is portable; you can take it to new ILO or traditional SIL if needed.

Can family members live in ILO with me?

Sometimes. If a family member also has NDIS funding at SIL level, yes. If family members do not have disability requiring funded support, this is more complex. Some ILO arrangements include live-in family with portion of your funding paying for their support provision if they are formal support workers. Discuss with ILO facilitator.

Is ILO available in regional areas?

Yes, though provider willingness may be lower in regions with limited disability services. ILO can actually solve thin markets problems by creating custom arrangements where traditional SIL does not exist. Expect longer development timelines in regional areas.

Can I do ILO with siblings or friends who don’t have NDIS?

Not typically for full co-residency, as ILO funding only pays disability supports. However, you can have guests stay often, or siblings/friends might live nearby and spend significant time at your ILO without formally co-residing. Some creative arrangements exist; discuss specific circumstances with facilitators.

Key Resources

Individualised Living Options represent the ultimate expression of choice and control in NDIS accommodation for people with high support needs. While development is complex and time-consuming, participants report that living in arrangements designed by and for them delivers quality of life impossible in traditional models.

Looking for providers open to ILO arrangements? Browse Carevo’s directory to find flexible SIL providers across Australia who support participant-directed living models.