2017-04-11 P&E Agenda Attachment 1 to Item 1 Housing Needs Assessment

The Summer Foundation (2016) considers that the NDIS provides opportunities to rethink past
approaches and to examine new options to support people with significant disabilities to live with
greater independence and to have more choice and control over their lives. However they
recognise that the housing and disability sectors face a significant challenge in delivering
‘suitable’ housing. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has the potential to play a
pivotal role in facilitating innovative sector partnerships, guidelines and policy to deliver the most
appropriate housing options for people with disabilities. However, appropriately addressing the
housing needs of people with disabilities is also seen by them as the responsibility of the whole
community.

The introduction of the NDIS is considered to provide a new environment within which to test
and refine innovative housing approaches. The reality is however, that there is currently no single
design standard or design framework that the housing sector can presently use to deliver such
outcomes.

In summary, it appears too early to predict the full consequences of the NDIS on housing for
people with disability. It is noted that QPP 4.0 contains the following definition which would cover
individual or group housing under the NDIS. However given the expressed desire of many people
with disabilities to live independently in the community, it is likely that many such premises can
also be included under the definition of a dwelling house. The provision of single dwellings which
are universally designed or adaptable in the general housing stock also need to be encouraged
and facilitated.

Column 1               Column 2                         Column 3           Column 4
Use                    Definition                       Examples include   Does not include the
                                                                           following examples

Community              Any dwelling used for            Hospice            Dwelling house, dwelling
residence              accommodation for a                                 unit, residential care facility,
                       maximum of six persons who                          rooming accommodation,
                       require assistance or support                       short-term accommodation
                       with daily living needs, share
                       communal spaces and who
                       may be unrelated.




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