How to Choose a SIL Provider: A Checklist
Start by checking the provider is registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, which every SIL provider now has to be. Then meet them, visit the home and ask how they roster staff, handle overnight support, choose housemates, keep tenancy and support separate, and deal with complaints. Get the service agreement and any tenancy agreement in writing before you commit.
Is the Provider Registered?
Check the NDIS Commission's provider register before anything else.
Search for approved providers, and check the provider hasn't been banned or had registration revoked. A provider still waiting on its SIL application will be in Part 3 of the register, and can deliver SIL until the Commission decides, if it applied before 1 October 2026.
What Should You Ask About the Support?
Who will be there, how they're trained, and how it matches your funding.
- Who are the regular workers, and how do you keep the same people where possible?
- How are workers trained in active support, positive behaviour support and de-escalation?
- How will my roster of care work, and can I see it?
- Is overnight a sleepover or an awake shift, and what happens if I need more help one night?
- How do you support me to build skills, not just do things for me?
- How will you carry out my behaviour support plan, if I have one?
Looking for SIL Support?
We'll connect you with a registered SIL provider who may have support or a vacancy that suits.
What Should You Ask About the Home and Housemates?
How people are matched, how conflict is handled, and how much say residents have.
- Who lives there now, and can I meet them?
- How do you consult residents before someone new moves in?
- How are disagreements between housemates handled?
- Will I have my own room, keys and control over who comes in?
- How are visitors and shared spaces managed?
- What are the emergency arrangements, and are they practised?
What Should Be in the Agreements?
Your service agreement should cover the support, the price and how changes work. If the provider also provides the home, the tenancy agreement must be separate.
- The ratio, amount and intensity of your support, and the price
- Your responsibilities and the provider's
- How long the agreement runs, how it changes and the notice to end it
- How disputes are solved
- How your support works if you go on holiday
- What happens if a housemate moves out
- What happens if you have to leave unexpectedly
Ask to see the provider's conflict of interest policy if they provide both housing and support. You have the right to change SIL provider during your tenancy.
What Are the Warning Signs?
Pressure, vagueness and anything that ties your home to their support.
- Being told you'll lose the house if you change support provider
- No written agreement, or one you aren't given time to read
- Extra charges to cover an empty room
- No clear way to raise a complaint
Questions People Ask
How many SIL providers should I talk to?
As many as you need. Meeting a few lets you compare homes, housemates and how they work. A support coordinator can help arrange it.
Can my SIL provider charge more than the price limit?
No. For plan-managed and NDIA-managed participants, providers can't charge more than the maximum prices in the NDIS pricing schedule.
Where do I complain about a SIL provider?
Raise it with the provider first. You can also contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission on 1800 035 544.
Keep Reading
- SIL providersWhat a SIL provider does, why every SIL provider must now be registered with the NDIS Commission, the standards they follow and how to check one before signing.
- Moving into SILWhat to sort out before moving into a SIL home: the service agreement, the tenancy agreement, house rules, your rights at home and what if you need to leave.
- Changing SIL providerHow to change SIL provider: talk to them first, check your notice period, line up a registered provider, keep your home, and what if yours didn't register.
- How we choose providersThe checks every provider has to pass before we connect them with anyone.
- Finding a SIL vacancyHow to find a supported independent living (SIL) vacancy: what providers need to know, what to have ready, where vacancies are listed and how to judge the fit.
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