Australians who have Supported Independent Living (SIL) included in their NDIS plans may not be prepared for changes to SIL made by the federal government in September 2024.
Former Minister for the NDIS and Government Services Bill Shorten announced the mandatory registration of all Support Coordinators and SIL providers.
The CEO and founder of Hearth, Justin Scanlon, says the governments changes could lead to families and participants suddenly unable to pay the Support Workers who they have currently engaged.
“This can be quite distressing,” Mr Scanlon said.
“We know of some Participants whose NDIS plans with SIL included were rolled over – into the new NDIS PACE administrative system. This new system does not support NDIS payment for unregistered Support Workers.
“So, in this scenario, suddenly the supports weren’t available for the Participant because they couldn’t be paid under the Participant’s NDIS plan.”
Justin Scanlon says the only way to avoid this scenario is to be prepared – especially if a plan is due for a review or likely to be ‘rolled over’, or subject to a ‘change in circumstances’ review.
“It important that your Support Workers are employed by a SIL registered provider. If you are currently engaging private workers who are not employed by a SIL registered provider, you will be left without the ability to pay supports under the new NDIS PACE system.
Engaging an NDIS registered provider is not enough
The Head of Housing at Hearth, Celie Smirl says there are additional NDIS and SIL administrative layers that families and participants should also be aware of.
“If you have SIL in your NDIS plan, your NDIS provider should not just be NDIS registered. Your provider also has to be registered to provide Home and Living supports. In other words, SIL supports.”
“So, families and participants do need to confirm the status of their existing or future provider.”
Don’t leave it till too late
Justin Scanlon says that families also need to be aware that it can take a long time for providers of NDIS services to register as SIL providers.
“From what we know, it can take anywhere between six to eighteen months,” Scanlon points out.
“This is why if you have SIL included in your NDIS plan, you should be finding out everything now. Due diligence is critical if you do not want to be caught out.”
“If your Support Workers are private and not working for a registered provider”, or are agency managed, start investigating now what you have to do. If you have a registered provider, start finding out about their SIL status now.”
“Work on your transition plan straight away.”
Celie Smirl adds that the consultation currently underway is unlikely to change what is already happening.
“There is consultation with the disability sector on these changes, that is underway. But this is also a period of transition to the mandatory registration arrangements. And from our experience, the mandatory requirements are more than likely to stay.
Hearth is a registered NDIS provider. Hearth is registered to provide SIL supports. If you have any queries or concerns about SIL and your services, do let us know. We can help you plan for change.
