Deciding that someone you love needs support at home around the clock is rarely a single moment. It usually builds over months: an exhausted carer, a health scare, a young adult ready to leave home but not yet able to manage alone. When the conversation turns to shared living with 24/7 support, Gold Coast families tend to ask the same questions. What does the funding pay for? Is it housing? Who decides who lives together? And how do you know a provider will do it well?
At Kuremara, we have supported people with disability and complex health needs for more than ten years. This guide explains how this NDIS funding works, who it suits and what to look for before you commit to a home and a provider.
Support Workers, Not a Building
Supported independent living, usually shortened to SIL, is NDIS funding for support workers to help or supervise a participant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is not the house itself. Some participants who need a purpose-built home also have specialist disability accommodation (SDA) funding, which covers the dwelling rather than the support.
When families begin researching supported independent living Gold Coast options, keeping that distinction in mind makes every later conversation clearer. You are really making two decisions: where the person will live, and who will provide support inside that home.
SIL is usually delivered in a shared home where housemates also have NDIS funding and share some supports. One support worker might assist two residents during quieter parts of the day, with one-on-one help when someone needs it. SIL can be funded for someone who lives alone, although the NDIA notes that other home and living options often suit people living alone better.
Eight Everyday Supports the Funding Can Cover
The NDIA’s guidance sets out what SIL is designed to include. In practice, it covers the help a person needs to run their day safely at home and build independence over time.
- Personal care. Showering, dressing, grooming, toileting and other daily tasks, delivered the way the participant prefers, with privacy and dignity.
- Building everyday living skills. Support workers help residents learn or relearn cooking, cleaning and keeping a routine. The aim is to do things with the person, not for them, so independence grows.
- Carrying out behaviour support plans. Where a participant has a behaviour support plan, staff put its strategies into practice consistently, which is essential if the plan is going to work.
- Social skills and relationships. Support to get along with housemates, work through disagreements, stay connected with family and feel confident in social situations.
- Supervision and personal safety. Overnight support, help in an emergency and supervision for people at risk if left alone, such as someone with uncontrolled seizures or significant cognitive impairment.
- Medication and medical appointments. Prompting or administering medication according to documented instructions, and supporting the participant to attend appointments and follow their treating team’s advice.
- Household budgeting and bills. Help to understand household money, pay bills on time and share expenses fairly with housemates.
- Getting out into the community. Support with community access outside a regular routine, such as personal errands, and getting to and from activities like therapy sessions or family visits.
It is just as important to know what sits outside the funding. Anyone comparing SIL Gold Coast arrangements should budget separately for groceries, rent or board, utilities, vehicle costs and holiday expenses, because SIL does not cover day-to-day living costs. The NDIA also generally funds 10 irregular support days a year for standard needs and 15 for high intensity needs, covering times such as illness when a participant has to stay home unexpectedly.
Is Round-the-Clock Shared Support the Right Fit?
SIL is designed for people with higher support needs who need some level of help at home all the time. If support is only needed for part of the day, other options are often a better match: in-home support in a participant’s own or family home, or individualised living options (ILO), which let people design an arrangement around their own choices, such as living with a host. Short term accommodation can also be a practical way to trial time away from home.
The NDIA uses two price levels for SIL: standard and high intensity. Most people need standard support. High intensity applies when workers need extra qualifications and experience, for example for complex health tasks or complex behaviour support.
If you think SIL may suit you, talk with your support coordinator, health professional or NDIA planner. Participants with home and living funding typically also have support coordination, and the coordinator’s role includes finding suitable providers and discussing what can be delivered within the plan budget.
Why Location Matters on the Coast
According to the NDIA’s published participant data, more than 17,000 active NDIS participants live in the City of Gold Coast, spread from Coomera and Pimpama in the north to Coolangatta in the south and the hinterland to the west.
That spread matters. A house in Robina may suit someone who wants to stay close to family in the southern suburbs, but be impractical for a participant who works or attends a day program in Helensvale. For people with significant health needs, travel time to Gold Coast University Hospital in Southport or Robina Hospital is worth weighing up, along with access to public transport, shops and familiar community groups.
Housemates matter just as much as the suburb. Shared living works best when residents have compatible routines, interests and support needs, and everyone has a genuine say in who moves in.
Seven Questions to Ask Before You Choose
Choosing an SIL provider Gold Coast families can trust deserves more than a single phone call. These questions help you look past the brochure.
- Are you registered to deliver SIL? SIL can now only be delivered by providers registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, and those providers must meet additional SIL practice standards on top of the core NDIS Practice Standards. Ask for the registration number and check it against the NDIS Commission’s Provider Register.
- Who arranges the housing, and what happens if I change providers? If the provider also arranges the home, NDIA guidance expects a tenancy agreement that sets out housing rights separately from support. Ask plainly whether the participant could stay in the home if they later chose a different support provider. A provider handling both roles should be open about the conflict of interest and how it is managed.
- How are housemates matched? Ask how compatibility is assessed, how existing residents are consulted before someone new moves in, and what happens if housemates don’t get along.
- How will the roster of care be worked out? A roster of care breaks down weekly support needs, including which hours are shared and which are one-on-one. Ask to see a draft and check it reflects the participant’s real routine across mornings, evenings, weekends and overnight.
- How are staff trained for specific health needs? For participants who need medication administration, seizure management, PEG feeding or catheter care, workers should be trained and supervised for those exact tasks, following written instructions from treating clinicians. Ask who provides the training and how competency is checked.
- How will you build skills, not just do things for the participant? Good providers link daily support to the participant’s goals and review progress regularly. Ask how goals are tracked and how often they are reviewed with the participant and family.
- How do you handle concerns and keep families informed? Registered providers must have a complaints process. Ask who you would speak to, how quickly concerns are answered and how families are kept in the loop. If a concern isn’t resolved, you can contact the NDIS Commission on 1800 035 544.
Making the Move a Positive One
Even when the home and provider are right, moving is a big change. A good transition includes visits to the house, time with prospective housemates and meeting the core support team before move-in day. A short stay through short term accommodation can help confirm the fit.
Before the move, agree a written service agreement covering the supports, costs, how changes are made and how either party can end the arrangement, in language the participant understands. Share routines and health information with the team in writing, and set a date to review how things are going after the first month.
How Kuremara Supports Participants in Shared Living
Kuremara is a registered NDIS provider (registration number 4-GIGSGY1, ABN 82 653 599 761) supporting participants aged up to 65 with medical and mental health needs. Our roots are in primary healthcare in rural Queensland, and that clinical background shapes how we deliver 24/7 support: careful intake, documented care plans, trained staff and a steady focus on each person’s goals.
Through our affiliation with Priority Health Group, participants can access on-call telehealth doctors, and our programs draw on in-house psychology, mental health nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. We can also help participants look for SIL or SDA housing in the area they prefer.
We support participants across South East Queensland, including the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast. To talk through shared living support for yourself or someone you care for, call our team on 1300 000 799.