Adequate housing is one of the most basic human needs, and our home and living arrangements have a strong influence on our quality of life.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides payments to people with severe disability and complex needs who need housing designed to maximise their independence and enable access to support. This housing is called specialist disability accommodation (SDA). 

Over 36,000 NDIS participants will be eligible for SDA payments in the next 20 years. Despite the growth of the SDA, little research has investigated the outcomes of new disability housing in Australia. Without knowing what works and what doesn’t, there is a risk that the housing sector will develop SDA that won’t meet the needs of people with disability.

A coalition of 10 research, government, and industry partners are investigating the experiences, outcomes and economic impact of people with disability moving into SDA. Funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (ref: LP220100293), this research generates knowledge using the Home and Living Outcome Framework. The Framework is an evidence-based evaluation tool to help understand the impact of SDA. 

The Framework fills an urgent need in the SDA market by using valid, reliable, and tested outcome measures to understand life domains. These include wellbeing, health, paid support needs, community integration, and subjective lived experience.

The Home and Living Outcome Framework will help foster the development of cost-effective, quality housing that is fit for purpose, contributing to the long-term wellbeing of people with disability, as well as benefits to SDA providers, impact investors, the NDIS and the Australian economy. 

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Download the Framework and keep up to date

Download this report to see an in-depth overview of the Framework and keep up to date with the latest from the Home and Living Outcome Framework.

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