What a roster of care is
Supported Independent Living is funded for each person individually, but in a shared home much of the support is shared between housemates. A roster of care is a way to show how that works in practice across a typical week.
The NDIA provides a Microsoft Excel provider SIL roster of care tool, with a guide updated in June 2026. Providers use it to describe the support they propose to deliver to meet a participant's needs and goals.
What goes in it
- Shared support: hours where one worker supports several housemates, and the ratio, for example 1:3
- Individual support: one to one time for things only you need, such as personal care, appointments or community access
- Overnight support: whether it is active overnight support, where a worker is awake and working, or a sleepover
- Supports available to all residents to keep the household running
- Your level of support need and price level, standard or higher intensity
- Irregular support days, for times when you unexpectedly need support at home, such as when you are unwell
How the NDIA uses it
If the NDIA decides SIL is the right home and living option for you, it may use your roster of care, alongside other evidence such as therapy reports, to decide the reasonable and necessary supports in your plan.
A roster of care is not compulsory, it is not the exact schedule of support you will receive, and it is not an agreement with the NDIA. Providers can email it to the NDIA or give it to your support coordinator to submit with a home and living request or a reassessment request.
For participants: what to check
The provider must consult you, or your nominee, when preparing the roster. Ask to see it before it is sent, and check:
- Does it match a real week, including evenings, weekends and nights?
- Is there enough individual time for the things that matter to you?
- Are ratios realistic for your needs and your housemates' needs?
- Does it reflect changes, such as a new job, study or health needs?
For providers: getting it right
A clear, honest roster helps the NDIA understand the home and reduces requests for more information. Keep it consistent with therapy evidence, explain any higher intensity needs, and show how shared hours are split fairly across housemates.
Since 1 July 2026 SIL providers must be registered with the NDIS Commission under registration group 0138 and meet the SIL Practice Standards, which include agreements about tenancy, housing and support arrangements. Make sure your roster, service agreement and what you actually deliver line up.
Rosters and the 2026 funding changes
Daytime support in SIL homes is sometimes funded partly from community participation budgets, which are reduced by 50% when plans are created, reassessed or renewed from 1 October 2026. If you receive 24 hour disability support, a high support needs plan variation lets you ask for daily living and home and living funding to be increased, within limits, so your support stays safe. A current roster showing hours and ratios across the day and night is useful evidence.