I have recently reviewed the excellent Summer/SVA SDA Supply Report produced in March 2020. The Report, published on an annual basis, provides much-needed insights into the SDA pipeline at both a National and State/Territory level.
My key takeouts from the National section of the Report include:
The majority of NDIS participants with SDA funding have transitioned to the NDIS within an existing living arrangement, often in a group home
There are significant SDA data limitations, including:
Limited information about the location of NDIS participants with SDA funding
No information about the type of SDA funding people have or whether they are seeking housing.
Difficulty in determining the number of SDA places from the data, as most tables in the Report are based on dwellings
The NDIS data does not include “in-kind” SDA dwellings, owned by State and Territory Governments
Development of new SDA in some states like South Australia (with 210 places in development) is quite high given it has a minimal projected growth
The size of the reported development pipeline has been relatively consistent (2018 – 1,518 places, 2019 – 1,684 places and 2019 – 1,766 places)
Queensland is where the most significant increase in activity has occurred although WA is also ramping up from a low base.
While many apartments are in development so too are many group homes
Much activity is in NSW probably related to the Hunter redevelopment, which is coming to completion soon.
Surprisingly group homes are the dominant form of housing being constructed for people who require Robust housing
The vast majority of stock in the development pipeline is projected to be delivered within two years
If community housing providers and non for profit housing providers are treated as one group the biggest increase in development activity is amongst private housing providers
The small to medium sized developers (with between 21 and 150 places in development) are developing as much as the bigger developers (with 150+ places in development each)
