Group home

What is a group home?

A group home is a shared house where several people with disability live together and receive rostered support from paid workers, often around the clock. Under the NDIS, the support in a group home is usually funded as Supported Independent Living (SIL), and the building may be Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), a private rental or social housing.

"Group home" is an everyday term, not an NDIS funding category. You won't find a "group home" line in an NDIS plan. Instead, the plan funds each resident's support individually, and the home is where that support is delivered. People also call them "SIL houses", "shared supported accommodation", "disability houses" or "supported accommodation".

Group homes in Australia typically have a small number of residents, each with their own bedroom and shared living areas. Many were once run by state governments. During the NDIS rollout, several states, including NSW and Victoria, transferred their group homes to non-government providers.

How a group home works under the NDIS

Three separate things come together in most group homes, and they can come from different organisations:

• The support: workers who help with personal care, meals, medication, household tasks and safety. This is usually SIL, delivered by a SIL provider.
• The building: funded as SDA for eligible residents, or rented privately or through social housing. Rent and living costs are paid by the resident.
• Daytime activities: work, day programs and community participation are funded from other parts of each resident's plan.

Each resident's SIL is based on their own needs, even when workers are shared. The NDIA's SIL operational guideline looks at each person's hours of support, the support ratio, intensity, overnight support and irregular support. A roster of care shows how the house is staffed across the week. Overnight, workers usually do a sleepover, or stay awake on active overnight shifts if someone needs it.

Most support workers in group homes are covered by the social and community services stream of the SCHADS Award.

Group home vs other ways to live with support

A group home is one option among several. The right one depends on how much support a person needs, who they want to live with and what kind of home suits them.

Choosing a group home

Moving into a group home is a decision about where and with whom you live, not only about support. Visit more than once, at different times of day, and meet the people you would live with. Ask to see how the house runs in the evening and on weekends, not just on a planned tour. Talk with your support coordinator about whether shared living suits your goals, or whether an individual option would work better. If you have a behaviour support plan, ask how the provider will put it into practice in a shared setting, and how any restrictions on other residents might affect you.

Rules group home providers must follow in 2026

Since 1 July 2026, providers delivering SIL must be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (mandatory registration for SIL) and meet the SIL Practice Standards. For group homes, the standards matter most in these areas:

1. Separate agreements. Where the SIL provider also provides the housing, service and tenancy agreements must be separate, and the tenancy can't depend on using that provider's support. Residents can change SIL provider without moving out.
2. Choice about housemates. Residents should have the opportunity to make decisions about who they live with, and be consulted before new tenants are placed. See SIL vacancy.
3. Safeguarding between residents. Providers must manage risks such as conflict, intimidation and harm between people who live together.
4. Skilled workers. Workers trained in person-centred practice, active support, supported decision-making and positive behaviour support.
5. Emergency planning that is coordinated, rehearsed and tailored to each resident.

Group homes are also a common setting for restrictive practices, such as locked kitchens or cupboards. A restriction on one person can affect everyone who lives there. Regulated restrictive practices must be in a behaviour support plan and authorised under state or territory rules, which differ (NDIS Commission: behaviour support and restrictive practices).

The debate about group homes

Group homes replaced large institutions and remain the main form of 24/7 shared support. They have also been criticised for limiting residents' choice about where and with whom they live, and for the risks of closed environments.

The Disability Royal Commission's final report, tabled on 29 September 2023, examined group homes and recommended moving away from them over the long term toward more individual living options. Read the recommendations and governments' responses on the Royal Commission website rather than relying on summaries. The NDIA's own guidance on providing SIL and the newer SIL Practice Standards push in the same direction: more choice, separate tenancy, and support built around each person.

Common misunderstandings

• "The NDIS funds group homes." It funds each resident's support (SIL) and, for eligible people, the building (SDA). It doesn't fund rent or food.
• "Residents share one budget." Each person's funding is individual.
• "If I change provider I have to move." Not where the tenancy is separate from the support, as the SIL Practice Standards require.
• "The provider decides who moves in." Current residents must be consulted.
• "A group home has to be SDA." Many are private rentals or social housing.