How to apply for SDA: getting SDA funding in your NDIS plan
By The Find My SDA Team · Reviewed by Bhav Singh, Licensed Estate Agent · Published 09 Aug 2026 · Updated 11 Sep 2026
There is no separate SDA application form you lodge on its own. SDA is funded as part of your NDIS plan, so applying really means asking the NDIS to include SDA and giving them the evidence to support it. This guide sets out the practical steps in plain language. It is general information, not advice, and the NDIS makes all funding decisions. If you are not sure you meet the bar yet, start with our guide on SDA eligibility.
Step 1: Get a housing goal into your plan
SDA is easier to request when your NDIS plan includes a clear goal about your housing, for example wanting to live more independently or in a home that suits your disability. If you do not have a housing goal yet, you can raise it at your next planning meeting or plan reassessment.
Step 2: Gather your evidence
The NDIS decides SDA on evidence about your functional capacity, your support needs and your housing situation. Evidence often includes a report from an occupational therapist, such as a Functional Capacity Assessment, which describes what you can do day to day and why a specially designed home is needed.
If you are asking for home and living supports for the first time, the NDIS says your evidence needs to explain your daily support and housing needs, including how often and when you need support each day. It also needs to explain what you can and can't do because of your disability, how that affects your daily life and housing needs, and what other home and living options you have explored and why they don't meet your disability-related support needs.
Be specific. Good evidence describes what actually happens during your day, what support you need and when, and why your current home can't meet those needs. Other evidence can help too, such as reports from medical specialists or a positive behaviour support plan. The NDIS says evidence should be recent and from a relevant treating health professional, and it can't include home and living supports in your plan without the correct evidence.
Step 3: Ask the NDIS to change your plan
There is no separate SDA form. You send your evidence to the NDIS and tell them why you are providing it, through the NDIS service hub, by mail to NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601, or in person to your my NDIS contact or local office. If your situation has changed significantly and you need a new plan, the request goes on the plan reassessment request form. A change to part of your current plan uses the plan variation request form.
A support coordinator can help you present your needs clearly, but since 27 August 2026 only you, your plan nominee or your child representative can ask for a plan reassessment. The NDIS says you can't give consent for someone else, like a provider, to ask for you. Our page on how to choose an SDA provider covers finding the right people around you.
Step 4: The NDIS reviews and decides
The NDIS considers your request against the SDA rules and decides whether to fund it. If SDA is approved, it appears as its own line item in your plan, usually naming a design category and building type. That line is what tells you which homes you can move into.
The NDIS Act sets decision timeframes. For a plan variation request, the NDIA must decide within 21 days of receiving it, or tell you it needs more time. For a plan reassessment request that is on the right form and shows a significant and ongoing change in your situation, it has 90 days from receiving it to decide whether to reassess your plan, vary it instead, or leave it as it is. That 90 day period started on 27 August 2026. If the NDIA doesn't act within those periods, it is generally taken to have said no, and that decision is reviewed automatically.
The NDIS may also come back with questions or ask for more information. Start well before you hope to move, because gathering evidence and finding a home both take time on top of the decision.
Step 5: Once SDA is funded, find your home
When SDA is in your plan, the next step is finding a home built to your funded category. You can browse vacancies by suburb and category and enquire on the ones that fit. It also helps to understand the different types of SDA housing so you know what you are looking for.
Our guide on moving into an SDA home explains what happens from your first enquiry through to moving day.
If SDA is not approved
If the NDIS doesn't include SDA, it will tell you the reason. If you don't agree, you can ask for an internal review. You must ask within 3 months after receiving the decision, and nobody who was involved in the original decision can do the review. The NDIS aims to complete internal reviews within 60 days, and you can send new evidence that answers the reasons it gave.
If you still disagree after the internal review, the NDIS says you have 28 days to ask for an external review. A support coordinator or advocate can help you prepare. Our guide on SDA eligibility covers what to do if SDA is not in your plan yet. Our guide on what to do if your SDA request is rejected goes through each step.
Common questions
Is there a separate form to apply for SDA?
Not on its own. SDA is requested as part of your NDIS Home and Living supports and funded through your plan, rather than through a standalone application you lodge separately.
How long does it take to get SDA funding?
Gathering evidence comes first and has no set timeframe. Once the NDIA has your request, the NDIS Act gives it 21 days to decide a plan variation request, or tell you it needs more time, and 90 days to decide a plan reassessment request that meets the conditions for one. Because finding a home also takes time, start well before you hope to move.
Do I need an occupational therapist to apply for SDA?
The NDIS says evidence should be recent and come from a relevant treating health professional, such as an occupational therapist. An OT's Functional Capacity Assessment describes your day-to-day needs, other allied health and specialist reports can support it, and the NDIS decides what evidence it needs.
Can I ask for SDA without a support coordinator?
Yes. You can send your evidence to the NDIS yourself through the service hub, by mail or in person, and your my NDIS contact can help explain your home and living options. A support coordinator or advocate can help, but the request can come straight from you.
Does it cost anything to ask for SDA?
The NDIS request forms are free to download and send. The main cost is usually the reports and assessments from health professionals, so ask your planner or support coordinator whether your plan can pay for them.
Do I need a particular diagnosis to get SDA?
The NDIS looks at whether you have an extreme functional impairment or very high support needs, rather than at a diagnosis on its own. Its evidence requirements focus on what you can and can't do because of your disability and how that affects your daily life and housing needs.
Can Find My SDA apply for SDA on my behalf?
No. The NDIS decides SDA eligibility and funding, and a request to change your plan comes from you, your plan nominee or your child representative, often with help from a support coordinator. Once SDA is in your plan, Find My SDA can help you find a home that matches your funded category.
Sources
We check the facts in this guide against these official sources before it goes live.
- NDIS - Specialist disability accommodation operational guideline
- National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013
- NDIS - How to ask for home and living supports
- NDIS - What is a plan reassessment
- NDIS - What is a plan variation
- NDIS - Changes to plan reassessments
- NDIS - How to request a review of a decision
- Administrative Review Tribunal - National Disability Insurance Scheme
This guide is general information only and is subject to change. It does not describe any internal NDIS process and does not guarantee an outcome. The NDIS makes all eligibility and funding decisions, so always confirm the current requirements with the NDIS, your planner or your support coordinator.