The NDIS Property is basically the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) of the National Disability Insurance Scheme of the Australian Federal Government. Under the NDIS Property or the NDIS SDA scheme, the Australian Federal Government allocates 22 billion dollars annually to help the people with high-support requirements afford suitable accommodation.
The Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) or the NDIS Property is designed specially to cater the needs of the people with extreme functional impairment or very high support requirements. The funds to pay for the NDIS Property or the NDIS SDA is provided to a very small portion of the overall NDIS SDA participants, who meet the certain eligibility criteria. The eligible SDA participants can receive funds for the cost of their NDIS Property or Housing through SDA payments to the SDA or NDIS property provider.
The SDA Funding of the NDIS is also aimed at encouraging investors to develop new high-quality NDIS Property for the eligible NDIS participants. The SDA Funding is only allowed for the NDIS property or the SDA in which the housing service is delivered.
How Investors Can Benefit from NDIS Property?
The investors can invest in the NDIS Property or the SDA by privately investing in the construction of high-quality specialist disability accommodation apartments, villas, duplexes, townhouses, group houses or the independent houses to rehouse the people with disabilities. The investors can also buy the specialist disability accommodation and get it leased to the eligible NDIS participants through a registered SDA provider. As the NDIS will only pay the SDA funds to a registered provider having the enrolled and SDA-complaint NDIS property that contains at least 1 bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, a living, or dining area, and the entry/exist designed for the high-requirements of disabled.
How the SDA Funding for the NDIS Property Works?
The Australian Federal Government has laid the following guidelines regarding the SDA funding for NDIS Property.
- The SDA Funds are only paid for the brick-and-mortar NDIS Property. They are not paid for any person-to-person service.
- The eligible participants are free to make their own decision regarding finding and entering into the agreement with a registered NDIS Property provider.
- The SDA Funding for the NDIS Property is different from the traditional disability funding. The NDIS provides the funds directly to approved participants of the SDA Scheme.
- The approved participants are free to choose the registered NDIS Property provider of their own choice. Thus, the SDA Funding guidelines empowers the approved disabled participants to choose their preferred place to live.
- The NDIS employs the set of published SDA price-limits to determine the amount of SDA funds for a participant’s plan.
- The payment structure of the SDA funding is aimed to drive greater competition in the NDIS property market for the benefit of the end-users of the scheme – the disabled people.
- As the Australian Federal Government has legislated a long-term commitment to the SDA or NDIS Property Funding, the scheme is going to benefit both the disabled people and the investors of the SDA or the NDIS property.
Eligibility Criteria for the NDIS Property
The NDIS property is basically a specialist designed accommodation housing that meets all the certification standards of the SDA design to be enrolled in the NDIA. The SDA rules classify the SDA design standards into the following 4 categories.
- Improved Livability
- Robust
- Fully-Accessible
- High-Physical Support
The SDA housing can be enrolled with the NDIA as a NDIS property only when the construction is fully-completed and the certificate of occupancy has been issued. The providers of the NDIS Property must be registered with the State & Territory Authorities. Also, the providers of the NDIS must meet all the building codes and laws associated with the local government authority.
Important Guidelines for the NDIS Property Investors
If you are planning to invest in the NDIS Property, you must have the knowledge of the fact that the SDA funding for NDIS property is mainly for the benefit of the approved participants of the NDIS Scheme, not the NDIS property owners. You will be eligible for the SDA funding if you have the NDIS approved participants to rent out your NDIS property. So, always invest in the SDA housing which is in the area where there is a great demand of the NDIS property from the NDIS approved participants. Also, keep in mind that merely getting your SDA property approved from the NDIA will not make you eligible for the SDA funding. In order to make your NDIS property investment a profitable one, it is very necessary to find out the NDIS approved participants, who are willing to rent your NDIS property because only then you will receive SDA funds.
