Leaving hospital (or aged care) and moving to SIL or SDA in Queensland

The NDIS hospital discharge pathway, step by step

1. Let the hospital know. Tell hospital staff you're an NDIS participant. With your consent they tell the NDIA you're in hospital. You can also call the NDIA on 1800 800 110 or tell your my NDIS contact.
2. The NDIA contacts you. It aims to be in touch within 4 days of being told a change to your plan may be needed, by phone or email, with you or your nominee.
3. The hospital shares information. Hospital staff keep the NDIA updated and give it evidence about your needs after you leave. The NDIA only shares information with state health services with your consent and where privacy laws allow.
4. Your plan is changed or created. A specialised NDIA planner meets with you about your goals and the hospital's evidence.
5. The plan goes to the people planning your discharge. The NDIA tells the hospital what supports are in your approved plan and, with your consent, shares it with your support coordinator.
6. You leave hospital with the supports in your plan, and your my NDIS contact or support coordinator helps you put them in place.

If you're not an NDIS participant yet but might be eligible, hospital staff can contact the NDIA with your consent and help you apply while you're in hospital.

Forms and evidence in a discharge

The NDIA's hospital pages describe a process run by people rather than a single form for you to fill in:

• Telling the NDIA: with your consent, hospital staff let the NDIA know you're in hospital. You can also call 1800 800 110, talk to your my NDIS contact or send an enquiry through the NDIA's service hub.
• Evidence from the hospital: hospital staff give the NDIA information and evidence about your needs after you leave, and a hospital liaison officer can gather it for a plan change.
• Home and living supports: if you need SIL, SDA or home modifications, the hospital liaison officer can help the hospital apply before you go home. The evidence should be recent, come from a relevant treating health professional, and explain your daily support and housing needs and the other options you've explored.
• Sending evidence yourself: use the service hub, post it to NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601, or hand it to your my NDIS contact or local office, and say why you're sending it.
• Not a participant yet: hospital staff can contact the NDIA with your consent and help you apply while you're in hospital.

If leaving hospital changes your support needs or where you live, our guide to an NDIS change of circumstances explains what to tell the NDIA and what happens next.

What the hospital team and support coordinator need

Hospital social workers and support coordinators move fastest when the paperwork is ready early. It helps to have:

• your consent to share information between the hospital, the NDIA, your support coordinator and providers
• your NDIS number, plan or plan summary, and how the plan is managed
• the expected discharge date, and whether you can return to your previous home
• reports from the hospital team about the support you need at home, day and night
• any behaviour support plan
• where you'd like to live, and whether you'd share a home
• the names of providers you already use and want to keep

If SIL is likely, a roster of care can help show the support you need. You can build a draft in minutes with our free SIL cost calculator and roster builder.

How SIL and SDA fit together

Supported Independent Living (SIL) is help with, or supervision of, daily tasks in your home, for people with higher support needs. It pays for the support, not the home or rent. Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) pays for the home itself: housing designed for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs.

The NDIA decides each one separately. You can have SIL without SDA, in a rented home or a family home, and if you live in SDA, SIL pays for the support inside it. Our guide to SIL, SDA and ILO compares them side by side.

Younger people in residential aged care

The NDIA says it is committed to making sure no NDIS participant under 65 lives in residential aged care, unless there are exceptional circumstances or it's their will and preference. If you or a family member are under 65 and living in aged care, or about to move there from hospital, the first step is your my NDIS contact or support coordinator.

They can talk through other options, connect you with the NDIA's specialist planners and arrange the supports you need to move out safely. Your NDIS supports continue while you explore options. It can take time to find the right home, so connect with the NDIA as early as you can.

The Summer Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, works to keep younger people with disability out of aged care and shares stories and updates on its younger people in aged care page.

Common questions

Who tells the NDIA I'm in hospital?

Usually the hospital, with your consent. You can also call the NDIA on 1800 800 110, talk to your my NDIS contact or send an enquiry through the NDIA's service hub.

How soon will the NDIA contact me?

The NDIA says it will be in touch within 4 days of being told a change to your plan may be needed, or that you want to apply.

Can I leave hospital before my SDA home is ready?

Possibly. If you're eligible for SDA, SIL, ILO or home modifications, medium-term accommodation can be added to your plan for up to 90 days, and you don't need a confirmed long-term home.

Do I need SDA to get SIL?

No. SIL can be provided in many kinds of homes, including a rented home or your family home, if SIL is in your plan.

Can my support worker keep supporting me in hospital?

Usually not with NDIS funding, because hospital staff provide your care. The exception is support for a complex communication need or managing behaviours of concern.