Questions to Ask a SIL Provider Before You Sign

Use this on the tour, not afterwards

Every provider sounds reasonable in a first meeting. The differences show up in the answers to specific, slightly awkward questions, and in whether those answers arrive quickly or get deflected to head office. Print this, take it with you, and write the answers down while you are standing in the house.

One rule before you start: ask the same questions at every home you visit. Three houses blur together within a fortnight, and the value of a list like this is comparison rather than interrogation.

About the house itself

• How many people live here, and how many bedrooms are vacant right now
• Is this home also enrolled as Specialist Disability Accommodation, and if so, in which design category
• Who owns the building, and are you the landlord as well as the support provider
• What is the tenancy arrangement, and can I see a blank copy of it
• Which parts of the house are shared and which are private
• What happens in a heatwave or a power outage, and is there backup power to essential equipment
• How does someone get to the nearest station or bus stop from this front door

That question about the landlord is not a formality. Where the same organisation holds both your tenancy and your support agreement, a dispute about one can put the other at risk, and it is worth knowing whether the two are legally separate before you sign either.

About the people you would live with

• Can I meet every resident, not just the staff, before deciding
• Can I visit twice, once in the daytime and once in the evening
• What are the current residents' routines, and how do they overlap
• How was the last vacancy filled, and were the existing residents consulted
• Has anyone moved out of this home in the last two years, and why
• What happens in this household when someone is distressed
• Are visitors welcome, and are there hours around that

The question about who moved out and why is the most useful one on this page. A provider that answers it plainly is telling you how it handles difficulty. A provider that cannot remember is telling you something too.

About the support

• Can I see the proposed roster of care in writing
• What is the support ratio at each part of the day, not just the daily total
• Is there a worker in the house overnight, and are they awake or asleep
• What happens to my support when a housemate is in hospital and the shared ratio changes
• How do you handle a shift nobody can fill, and would we be told
• How many different workers would come through in a typical fortnight
• Who writes the support plan, who trains the workers on it, and how often is it reviewed
• If clinical tasks are involved, which health professional assessed and delegated them

Staff turnover is the question providers least like answering and families most need answered. A home where fourteen different people pass through in a month is a different home from one with a settled team of five, whatever the roster document says.

About the money

• Show me the rent, the board and the support side on separate lines
• What exactly does board include, and what is still mine to pay
• How are shared household bills split between residents
• Which NDIS line items will you claim against, and at what price
• What are the notice periods, on both sides, and are there exit fees
• What happens to my costs if I go into hospital for three weeks
• Are there charges for a support worker's ticket or travel on an outing

Get all of this in writing before signing, not as a verbal reassurance in a kitchen. Pricing for support items is published by the NDIA in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, and any provider should be able to name the line item behind a figure they have quoted. Our breakdown of who pays for what in SIL explains where each of these costs normally lands.

About what happens when something goes wrong

• How do I make a complaint, and what happens after I do
• Has this home had a reportable incident in the last year
• What is the process if I want to change support workers
• What is the process if I want to change providers but stay in this house
• Who do I call at 11pm, and does a person answer
• How would you support me to find somewhere else if this stopped working

That last one is the single best test of a provider's character, because the honest answer costs them a resident. Anyone who talks you out of asking it has answered it.

Every participant can also complain directly to the NDIS Commission rather than only through their provider, and a provider that volunteers that fact without being prompted is a good sign.

The two questions that tell you the most

First: what would you change about this home if you could. A provider who names something real is being straight with you. A provider who says nothing needs changing is either not paying attention or not being honest.

Second: can I speak to a family whose relative lives here. The answer matters less than the reaction, because a service confident in its homes finds this easy.

When you are ready to do this in person, how to prepare for a first home visit covers the practical side of the day itself, and our current vacancies list what each house offers so you can plan which ones are worth the trip.