Living With Housemates
In a housemate arrangement you live in your own home or a shared rental with people who are not family. You have a say in who you live with.
Individualised Living Options
ILO and the NDIS Explained
Individualised Living Options (ILO) is a home and living support funded through the NDIS. It helps you live in your chosen home, in the way that suits you best. Astrad’s occupational therapists provide the assessment and report that can form part of your evidence.
Where Astrad Fits Into Your ILO Planning
Our Role
Astrad Allied Health is a mobile allied health service. Our occupational therapists are registered with AHPRA. They complete the assessment and write the report describing your support needs at home. We come to you, so what we observe reflects how you actually live day to day. We work across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, and we can fly in and out where travel is needed. It also helps to be clear about the limits of our role. Astrad does not deliver ILO supports and does not act as an ILO provider. We do not arrange hosts or housemates for you. We also do not decide funding. That decision sits with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Built Around You
Funds Your Supports
Backed by OT Evidence
How ILO Funding Works
ILO is usually funded in two stages, with clinical evidence supporting the request. Here is how the process runs.
- 1
Stage One: Exploration
You work out what a good home life looks like, explore your options, and design the arrangement. Up to 100 hours of funding is available, depending on complexity.
- 2
Stage Two: Supports
The second stage funds the supports themselves, including your primary supports and any monitoring over time. The two stages are funded separately.
- 3
Evidence and Review
An occupational therapist assesses your support needs at home and writes the report. The NDIA reviews it and decides what goes into your plan.
ILO Arrangements
Ways an ILO Arrangement Can Work
ILO is flexible by design. These are the main ways an arrangement can be set up, and how it differs from SIL.
Host Arrangements
In a host arrangement you live full time with a host who is not a family member, in their home. Support becomes part of ordinary household life.
ILO Compared With SIL
SIL funds a support worker, usually shared with other participants in the same home. ILO funds an arrangement you help design, around where you live and who you live with.
Supplementary Supports
Your main arrangement can be topped up with extra help. This might include paid drop-in support, on-call back-up, a mentor, or support from family and friends.
ILO Stands for Individualised Living Options
ILO stands for Individualised Living Options. It is worth spelling out, because the acronym is often expanded incorrectly, including on some provider websites. The three words are Individualised, Living and Options. If you see ILO written out any other way in a home and living context, treat it as an error and check the wording with the NDIS before you rely on it.
How ILO Sits Alongside SDA and SIL
Home and living support covers several different things, and they are easy to mix up. Specialist Disability Accommodation is about the dwelling itself and its accessible design features. Supported Independent Living pays for a worker to assist or supervise you at home, and it most often applies where you share that assistance with other participants. Individualised Living Options funds an arrangement you help design around your own goals. Some people receive more than one of these supports. Others need only one.
Who ILO Tends to Suit
ILO generally applies to adults, and to 17 year olds planning ahead, who need support at home for at least six hours each day. It suits people who want a say in where they live, who they live with, and how support reaches them. ILO is generally not the right fit if you need 24 hour rostered support. Your planner can talk through which option suits your situation.
What ILO Will Not Fund
ILO funds the support you receive from other people. It does not cover the home itself. Rent and mortgage repayments sit outside it, as do everyday costs such as food, electricity and internet. If you need housing built with specific accessible design features, that is a separate support. Our guide to SDA housing explains how the two can work alongside each other.
The Evidence Behind an ILO Request
A home and living request needs recent evidence from a treating health professional. An occupational therapist is the example the NDIS gives. The report should describe what you can and cannot do because of your disability, the support you need at home, and the other options you have considered. Our occupational therapists complete that assessment in your home and community.
Planning Your Next Steps
Bring ILO up early with your planner or support coordinator. For advice about your own plan and finances, speak with your planner, your support coordinator or the NDIS directly. Astrad provides clinical assessment only, and every funding decision rests with the NDIA.
Our occupational therapists come to you rather than asking you to attend a clinic. We cover four states and can travel further where that is needed. To arrange an assessment or ask a question, contact our team or call (07) 3477 9366.
Written for Astrad Allied Health and reviewed by our AHPRA-registered occupational therapists.
This page is general information only. It is not NDIS or financial advice. The NDIA decides what goes into your plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does ILO stand for?
ILO stands for Individualised Living Options. It is worth saying clearly, because the acronym is sometimes expanded incorrectly, including on provider websites. The three words are Individualised, Living and Options. Individualised means the arrangement is built around you. Living refers to your home life. Options means there is more than one way to set it up. If you come across a different expansion of ILO in a home and living context, check it against the NDIS before you rely on it.
What is the difference between ILO and SIL?
SIL stands for Supported Independent Living. It funds a support worker to help or supervise you, and it is usually funded when you live with other participants and share those supports. Individualised Living Options works differently. It funds an arrangement you help design, giving you more say over where you live, who you live with and how support reaches you. ILO is generally not the right fit if you need 24 hour rostered support. Your planner can talk through which one suits your situation.
Who is ILO suitable for?
ILO is generally for people aged 18 and over. A 17 year old thinking ahead about future living arrangements can also explore it. The NDIS also looks at whether you need support at home, formal or informal, for at least six hours each day. Beyond that, it tends to suit people who want more choice and control over their home life. Every situation is assessed individually, so speak with your planner about your own circumstances.
What are the two stages of ILO funding?
ILO is usually funded in two stages. Stage One is Exploration and Design. You work out what a good home life looks like, explore your options and design the arrangement. Funding of up to 100 hours is available for this stage, depending on complexity, and it ends with a service proposal. Stage Two funds the supports themselves, covering primary supports, supplementary supports, and monitoring and adjustment. The stages are funded separately, so approval of the first does not automatically mean the second follows.
Does ILO pay my rent?
No. ILO funds the support you receive from other people, and it does not cover the home or accommodation itself. Rent and mortgage repayments sit outside it, as do everyday costs such as food, electricity and internet. If you need housing built with specific accessible design features, that is a separate support called Specialist Disability Accommodation. Your planner or support coordinator can explain how the two can work alongside each other.
Do I need an occupational therapy report for an ILO request?
The NDIS asks for recent evidence from a treating health professional to understand the support you need at home, and it gives an occupational therapist as the example. The report should cover what you can and cannot do because of your disability, your support and housing needs, and the options you have explored. Our AHPRA-registered occupational therapists complete that assessment and write the report. Astrad does not deliver ILO supports and does not decide funding. The NDIA makes that decision.
Thinking About ILO Funding Through the NDIS?
Talk to us about an occupational therapy assessment for your home and living request. We will explain what the report covers and how it fits into your planning conversation.
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