Understanding your options
SDA Design Categories
A closer look at the four SDA design categories — who each one suits.
Specialist Disability Accommodation is divided into four design categories under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements. Your category is confirmed through an individual assessment, but understanding the differences upfront makes it much easier to know what to expect — and what questions to ask your Support Coordinator.
Improved Liveability
Designed for people with a sensory, intellectual or cognitive impairment. The focus is on better internal/external access, fittings and sound-proofing rather than wheelchair-specific features.
Typically suits
- Sensory sensitivities (noise, light)
- Intellectual or cognitive disability
- Need for a calm, low-stimulation home
Fully Accessible
For people with significant physical impairment. Step-free access throughout, wider doorways and corridors, and accessible kitchen/bathroom fittings designed for wheelchair use.
Typically suits
- Full-time wheelchair users
- Significant physical impairment
- Need for independent physical access
Robust
Resilient, durable construction designed to reduce the risk of injury to the resident or others, and to minimise the impact of behaviours of concern, while still feeling like a home rather than a facility.
Typically suits
- Behaviours that may impact the physical environment
- Need for a secure, low-disturbance setting
- Often delivered with a smaller number of co-residents
High Physical Support
For people with the highest physical support needs. Includes features such as ceiling hoist systems, backup power for medical equipment, climate control and emergency power for life-support devices.
Typically suits
- Very high or complex physical support needs
- Reliance on assistive or medical equipment
- 24/7 onsite support arrangements
Building type matters too
Alongside design category, SDA homes also come in different building types — shared homes (typically 2–5 residents), villa/duplex arrangements, and single-resident dwellings. The right combination of design category and building type depends on your support needs, your preferences around shared living, and what is available in your area.
How this connects to funding
Your design category is one of the factors that determines your SDA price — the amount the NDIS pays toward the home itself. This is separate from your day-to-day rent contribution. See our guide to how funding works for the full picture, including a worked example of typical rent.