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The SDA HOUSING Podcast
Exploring Specialist Disability Accommodation in Australia
The SDA Housing Podcast is a leading voice in Australia’s Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) sector, delivering in-depth discussions, expert insights, and the latest updates related to housing solutions for people with disabilities. Through interviews with industry leaders, advocates, and lived-experience voices, we explore policy developments, innovative best practices, and real-world stories shaping the future of disability housing.
Listeners will gain valuable knowledge on emerging trends, sector challenges, and inspiring success stories, making this podcast an essential resource for investors, providers, advocates, and anyone passionate about inclusive housing.
Meet Your Hosts
Debbie Kindness – General Manager, NDIS Property Australia
With over 20 years of expertise in tourism, finance, and property, Debbie has played a pivotal role in transforming NDIS Property Australia from a two-person team to a 22-member powerhouse. Her leadership drives the successful marketing, sales, and development of SDA properties nationwide, working closely with builders, designers, lenders, and support providers to ensure high-quality, compliant housing solutions.
Minh Le – Founder & Director, NDIS Property Australia
A visionary in the SDA space, Minh is dedicated to accelerating the delivery of purpose-built disability housing across Australia. By fostering collaboration among stakeholders, investors, and NDIS participants, he champions choice, control, and dignity for people with disabilities, ensuring they have access to homes that truly meet their needs.
Together, Debbie and Minh are committed to ethical, sustainable, and impactful solutions in the SDA sector, bridging gaps and driving meaningful change.
Engaging with the SDA Community
Each week, we feature guest speakers from across the sector—sharing their expertise, experiences, and contributions to social impact in SDA. From innovative housing designs to policy advocacy, our conversations highlight how we can collectively improve living options for NDIS participants.
As the SDA landscape evolves, we invite you—our listeners—to join the journey. Whether you're an investor, provider, advocate, or simply passionate about inclusive housing, this podcast equips you with the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of People with Disabilities (PWDs).
Share Your Story
Have an SDA journey you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you!
📞 Call us: 1300 254 397
📧 Email us: podcast@ndis.property
🌐 Visit us: www.ndis.property
Join the conversation and help shape a more inclusive future in disability housing.
The SDA HOUSING Podcast
EPISODE 293 - Funding Complexities & Housing Challenges
This episode provides a comprehensive overview of the funding complexities of participants, aswell as the housing challenges in sourcing tenants into empty SDA houses, and the strategies to tenant these homes, either from an SDA or SIL perspective. The guest speakers joining Debbie, our host, are:
- Kevin from Paramount Disability Homes, &
- Katalin from Hand in Hand Support Coordination.
This discussion covers roles and responsibilities, challenges in securing SDA funding, leasing processes, market opportunities, and the importance of collaboration and trust among stakeholders. Additionally, it addresses challenges with SDA funding and approvals, steps for participants in legacy homes, and encouragement for SDA and SIL Providers to invest in purpose-built properties.
Complexities in Securing SDA Funding
- Intellectual and psychosocial disabilities face difficulties in securing SDA funding under the current NDIS framework.
- Creative solutions are necessary, such as sourcing rental properties or working with different setups (e.g SDA and SIL providers being different organizations).
Collaboration and Trust
- Trust is crucial in relationships between support coordinators, property owners, and providers.
- Ensuring that participants are matched with suitable housing that meets their needs and maintains a good relationship with residents and tenants.
Market Opportunities and Challenges
- Many investors in Melbourne have purchased SDA properties and require solutions for occupancy.
- Not all participants receive SDA funding, creating opportunities for investors to engage with support coordinators and providers.
Challenges in Finding Tenants
- Investors often secure a first or anchor participant in a house, but struggle to find a second tenant.
- Running operations with only one participant is not feasible for SIL providers.
- A solution is to allow SIL providers to bring on a sole-funded client or a client funded for SIL but not SDA.
- Discussion on strategies to assist investors with completely empty houses.
- Having a second participant relieves financial stress from SIL providers.
- Long-term relationships between SIL and SDA providers are crucial.
- The Commission may approve short-term one-on-one extensions for up to six months to maintain occupancy.
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NDIS PROPERTY AUSTRALIA:
Our team conducts thorough research on Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) and provides appropriate technical advice through premium and strategy-based solutions. We also use complex feasibility calculation spreadsheets to help investors understand the expected annual income of an SDA dwelling, the timeline stages of construction of their property, as well as revealing the hidden costs. By staying up-to-date with the latest SDA data and pricing payments information, we help clients make better-informed decisions and achieve their investment goals.
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CONTACT:
Please feel free to call us on 1300 254 397 to talk to one of our friendly staff, otherwise, just pop on over to our website to find out more.
For any podcast related queries or suggestions, please contact our podcast team via podcast@ndis.property