Medium-term accommodation (MTA)

What is medium-term accommodation (MTA)?

Medium-term accommodation (MTA) is NDIS funding for somewhere to live for a limited time when a participant has a long-term home lined up but can't move in yet because their disability supports aren't ready. The NDIA usually funds MTA for up to 90 days. It covers the cost of the accommodation only; support, food and bills are paid for separately.

The NDIA's MTA page describes it as funding to live somewhere for up to 3 months while you wait. Typical reasons are waiting for a vacancy in Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA), waiting for home modifications to be finished, or leaving hospital when the long-term home isn't ready. MTA is a bridge to a known destination, not a housing solution in itself.

You will see MTA in the same family of acronyms as SIL, SDA, ILO and STA. The quickest way to remember it: STA is a short break, MTA is a waiting room, SDA is the house and SIL is the support.

How MTA works

MTA is one of the NDIS home and living supports, described in the NDIA's medium-term accommodation guideline. It is usually requested alongside the long-term support the person is waiting for, through a home and living supports request, a plan reassessment or a plan change.

How long MTA lasts

According to the NDIA's guidance on how much MTA is funded, MTA is usually funded for up to 90 days. It can be extended in limited situations. If the long-term home is going to take longer than 90 days to be ready, the participant should talk to the NDIA early rather than waiting for the funding to run out.

What MTA pays for

MTA funding only covers the cost of the accommodation for the time the participant stays there. It does not include:

• day-to-day living costs such as food, internet and electricity;
• personal care or other supports delivered in the home;
• rent for the participant's permanent home.

Participants keep using the other supports in their plan while they are in MTA, such as personal care or community participation. The NDIA may also fund extra support during the stay, for example if the person needs more personal care in the temporary home than they usually need, or assistive technology to make the stay work.

How MTA is claimed

MTA is claimed per day against a single Medium Term Accommodation support item in the NDIS pricing schedule (registration group 0115). The item has a maximum daily price; you can check the current limit in the free NDIS price guide. Support delivered during the stay is claimed separately under the relevant support items, never bundled into the MTA day rate.

Who is eligible for MTA

The NDIA's MTA eligibility guidance says a participant must meet all 3 of these criteria:

1. You have a long-term home you will move into after MTA. For example an SDA vacancy you have been offered, a home being modified, or a new home where SIL or ILO is being set up.
2. You can't move into your long-term home yet because your disability supports aren't ready. The delay must be about disability supports — such as SDA construction, home modifications or support arrangements — not ordinary housing delays.
3. You can't stay in your current accommodation while you wait.

Leaving hospital

The NDIA has made specific rules for people leaving hospital. Since the NDIA updated its guidelines in February 2023, participants being discharged from hospital can access MTA if they are eligible for NDIS home and living supports — SDA, SIL, ILO or home modifications — and they no longer need evidence of their long-term home's move-in date. This was designed to stop people staying in hospital longer than they need to because their home wasn't ready.

When MTA isn't the answer

MTA is generally not funded as a response to a crisis or a sudden change in circumstances, such as a family breakdown or losing a rental, unless the participant is waiting on disability-specific support and has a confirmed long-term housing solution. Crisis and homelessness support usually comes from state and territory housing services and other mainstream supports. If you aren't eligible, the NDIA suggests talking to your support coordinator, local area coordinator or planner about other home and living supports.

How to request MTA

MTA is decided on evidence like any other NDIS support. Requests are stronger when they show all three eligibility criteria clearly:

1. Identify the long-term home. Include the offer letter, tenancy or SDA vacancy confirmation, or the home modification approval and builder's timeline.
2. Explain what isn't ready and why. Name the disability support that is delayed — SDA construction or enrolment, home modification works, or SIL or ILO set-up — and the expected completion date if you have one.
3. Explain why you can't stay where you are. For example a hospital discharge date, an unsafe current home, or a home that can't be lived in during works.
4. Propose the accommodation. Where you would stay, why it suits your needs (access, location near supports), and how long you need it.
5. List the supports you'll need during the stay. Personal care, any extra support for an unfamiliar home, and assistive technology.

Send the request to the NDIA as part of a home and living supports request or plan change, ideally well before the date you need to move. Hospital social workers and health liaison officers often work with support coordinators on discharge requests.

When MTA ends

MTA ends when the participant moves into their long-term home or the funded period finishes. If there is a delay, contact the NDIA before the end date with evidence of the new timeline; an extension is possible only in limited situations, so don't assume it will be granted. Once the move happens, the provider should stop claiming MTA from that day.

MTA vs STA, SDA and SIL

MTA and STA are the pair most often confused. STA is a short overnight stay so family or friends get a break, then the person goes home; MTA is a temporary place to live while a long-term home is made ready. STA is generally limited to 14 days at a time; MTA is usually up to 90 days.

MTA also sits alongside the long-term supports it bridges to. A participant moving into SDA with SIL might have MTA for the accommodation while the SDA home is finished, with their support funded separately throughout. When the long-term home is ready, MTA stops.

What participants and providers should know

For participants and families, the key is planning ahead. Ask for MTA as soon as you know there will be a gap between leaving your current home (or hospital) and moving into your long-term home, and keep evidence of what you are waiting for and when it is expected. A support coordinator can help line up the accommodation, the supports during the stay, and the move.

For providers offering MTA, the essentials are:

Because MTA is funded as accommodation only, a provider that also delivers support during the stay needs to keep the two clearly separate in quotes, the service agreement, rosters and invoices.

Common mistakes with MTA

• Asking for MTA with no long-term home in sight. MTA needs an identified long-term home; without one, the request is likely to be declined.
• Expecting MTA to cover support or food. It covers accommodation only; supports come from the rest of the plan.
• Letting the 90 days run out. If the long-term home is delayed, talk to the NDIA before the funded period ends.
• Using MTA for respite. A short break for carers is STA, not MTA.
• Bundling support into the day rate. MTA is one daily accommodation item; support hours are claimed under their own items.