Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments
Joint response: Subject to further consideration
Status: Subject to further consideration
What has been achieved to date
Governments have not yet commenced working together on this recommendation.
All governments remain committed to considering this recommendation further.
What the Disability Royal Commission said in the final report
Commissioner Ryan recommends the Australian Government and state and territory governments commit to phasing out group homes in stages. This commitment should include:
a) immediate commitments to reduce the reliance on group homes, including:
- not approving new four- to six-bedroom group home models for Specialist Disability Accommodation
- only allowing new National Disability Insurance Scheme participants to enter group home accommodation as a last resort
- prioritising moving existing residents of group homes to move into smaller groups over time on request, subject to need.
b) development of a staged approach to phasing out group homes, including consideration of housing availability, transition logistics and financial impacts.
Annual progress and outcomes should be reported to the Disability Reform Ministerial Council.
Joint Government response July 2024
The Australian Government and state and territory governments support the development of a diverse range of inclusive housing options for people with disability that support them to exercise choice and control over their living arrangements.
In January 2023, the NDIS Commission completed an own motion inquiry into aspects of supported accommodation in the NDIS. An Action Plan was developed in response to the inquiry, focusing on elevating the quality and safety of supported independent living (SIL) services; amplifying the voices of people with disability living in supported accommodation; and improving the NDIS to maximise the choice, control and experienced of participants living in supported accommodation – including the interaction between SIL and specialist disability accommodation (SDA).
SDA is one of the supports that might be funded under the NDIS for some participants. SDA is a range of housing designed specifically for people with extreme functional impairment or very high needs.
The NDIA and states and territories have implemented a number of initiatives to support the phasing out of group homes enrolled as SDA (noting that not all people with disability residing in group homes receive SDA supports). For example, the NDIA no longer provides SDA payments for enrolled SDA properties with 11 or more residents and is progressively ceasing SDA payments for properties with 6 10 residents.
All governments will consider this recommendation further alongside recommendations of the NDIS Review, including Recommendations 8 and 9 of the NDIS Review and their associated actions.
More recommendations
View progress on other recommendations made by the Royal Commission.