What is SIL?

Also known as: Supported Independent Living

SIL is NDIS funding for the support a participant needs to live in a shared or individual home — help with daily tasks, personal care and overnight assistance. It pays for the support workers, not the housing itself. SIL is quoted per participant based on an agreed roster of care for the household.

SIL is priced from a roster of care: the provider models the shifts required across the household over a representative week, including overnight arrangements, and quotes each participant’s share. Where two participants share a worker, the cost is apportioned — this is the 1:2 and 1:3 ratio pricing.

Because SIL funding is quoted rather than drawn from a standard rate, the delivered roster and the quoted roster must stay in step. A household whose actual staffing has drifted from its quote is either under-claiming or over-claiming, and both surface at plan review.

From 2026 the NDIS Commission introduced a distinct registration group for SIL, tightening the requirements on providers delivering it.

Related terms

SDASDA is NDIS funding for the physical dwelling a participant with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs lives in. It pays the housing provider for accessible, purpose-built housing. SDA covers the building; SIL covers the support workers inside it, and the two are funded and claimed separately.Roster of careA roster of care is the modelled weekly staffing pattern for a Supported Independent Living household, used to quote each participant’s SIL funding. It sets out the shifts required, their times and ratios, and how overnight support is provided, and forms the basis of the amount the NDIA approves.Support ratioA support ratio describes how many workers support how many participants at once. 1:1 is one worker to one participant. 1:2 and 1:3 mean one worker shared between two or three participants, with the cost apportioned. 2:1 means two workers are required for a single participant, and both are claimed.SleepoverA sleepover is an arrangement where a support worker stays overnight at a participant’s home to be available if needed, and is permitted to sleep. Under the SCHADS Award it attracts a flat sleepover allowance rather than hourly pay, plus payment at the appropriate rate for any period the worker is actually woken to work.Core SupportsCore Supports is the NDIS budget category funding everyday assistance: personal care, help with household tasks, community participation, transport, and consumables. It is the most flexible category — funding generally moves freely between most Core support items — and it is where the majority of a typical participant’s plan sits.

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