Definition

If you have a goal about home and living in your N.D.I.S. plan, the N.D.I.S. may be able to fund Medium Term Accommodation (M.T.A.). It is not a stand alone support and is only ever funded as part of your other home and living support needs. Other home and living supports might include:

– Supported independent living (S.I.L.);

– Independent living options (I.L.O.);

– Specialist disability accommodation (S.D.A.);

– Short term accommodation (respite);

– Home modifications;

– Some personal care supports if you don’t have these funded elsewhere in you plan and you need them while in medium term accommodation or to help you move into medium term accommodation.

Medium Term Accommodation funding is for when you cannot move into your long-term home because your disability supports are not ready.

By long-term home, the N.D.I.S. mean a home you expect to live in for the future, and it is confirmed you can live there. For example: your own home once modifications are complete, a home where you have been offered Specialist Disability Accommodation that isn’t ready yet, or a home where you will start receiving Supported Independent Living. Your long-term home might not be ready because modifications are being done because of your disability, or because you have been offered Specialist Disability Accommodation or Supported Independent Living and someone needs to move out before you can movie in.

The N.D.I.S. will only fund Medium Term Accommodation if you cannot stay in your current accommodation while waiting for your long-term home. It is also not short term or emergency accommodation, so if you can move in within 2 -4 week, the N.D.I.S. might look at funding Short Term Accommodation instead.

Medium Term Accommodation is typically funded for up to 90 days. Sometimes it is funded for longer, for example, if home modifications take longer than 90 days. You need to provide evidence to the N.D.I.S. for them to fund Medium Term Accommodation for longer than 90 days.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must meet all 3 of the following criteria:

– You have a long-term home lined up;

– You can’t move into you future home because your disability supports are not ready;

– You can’t stay in your current accommodation.

Also, the N.D.I.S. will need to be satisfied that Medium Term Accommodation is needed because of your disability, it doesn’t replace the role your informal supports (your friends and family) would normally play in your life, and that it is most appropriate to fund it through N.D.I.S. and not another government or community service.

What Medium Term Accommodation does NOT cover

– Day to day living costs like food or electricity;

– Personal care supports you get at home, unless you need extra supports while you are in Medium Term Accommodation;

– Emergency housing;

– Short term accommodation;

– Accommodation where you can move into your long-term home with 2-4 weeks;

– Accommodation where it is reasonable to expect you can stay with family or friends;

– Accommodation for when you need to get repairs and renovations to your home and can’t live there;

– Supports that are more appropriately funded by another government or community service (such as foster care or emergency housing);

– Your rent or mortgage once you are in your long-term home.

See Get Started for links to other mainstream and community supports who may provide funding if you do not meet Medium Term Accommodation criteria.

How to apply for Medium Term Accommodation in your NDIS plan

To apply for Medium Term Accommodation to be included in your plan, you need to fill out a form (see Get Started for the link to the form). Once submitted to the NDIS, they may then contact you for further information. After they have all the information needed to reach a decision, they aim to do so within 10 days.

If your application is funded the N.D.I.S. then do a plan review to include it in your plan.