The first step towards Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) funding often feels like the most daunting: the assessment. If you're preparing for an SDA assessment, you're probably wondering what the occupational therapist will ask, how to prepare, and whether your family member will be approved. We know this process can feel overwhelming. You're sharing deeply personal information about your family member's challenges, and the outcome affects something fundamental: where they'll call home.

This guide walks you through what actually happens during the SDA assessment, how to prepare thoroughly, and what comes after. We've supported many Melbourne families through this journey, and we'll share what we've learned helps families feel more confident and prepared.

Important clarification: This post focuses on the participant eligibility assessment conducted by occupational therapists to determine if someone qualifies for SDA funding. This is different from building certification assessments that verify whether a property meets SDA design standards. If you're searching for information about the assessment you or your family member needs to undergo, you're in the right place.

Understanding the SDA Assessment Process

An SDA assessment is a comprehensive functional capacity evaluation conducted by an occupational therapist (OT) to determine if you're eligible for Specialist Disability Accommodation funding under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The assessment examines your daily living abilities, support needs, and how your current housing fails to meet your requirements. It typically takes 2-4 hours and results in a detailed report submitted to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) as part of your SDA funding application.

The NDIA requires this assessment because SDA eligibility criteria demand evidence of extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. The assessment provides that evidence. Your occupational therapist documents specific examples of how your current housing limits your independence, safety, or wellbeing.

This isn't the same as your general NDIS planning meeting. While planning meetings create your overall support plan, the SDA assessment focuses specifically on housing needs. The OT evaluates whether standard housing (even with modifications) can meet your needs, or whether you require the specialist design features that only SDA provides.

The assessment also helps determine which of the four SDA design categories best suits your needs: Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, Robust, or High Physical Support. The OT's recommendation guides the NDIA's funding decision.

According to the official NDIS guidelines on SDA eligibility, participants must demonstrate that their disability requires housing with specialist design features that aren't available in standard housing stock. The functional capacity assessment provides this evidence.

Who Conducts SDA Assessments?

Occupational therapists are the most common professionals conducting SDA assessments. OTs have specific training in assessing how people interact with their environment, which makes them ideal for evaluating housing needs. They understand accessibility, mobility, sensory needs, and how built environments affect independence.

Other allied health professionals may also contribute to your assessment, depending on your disability. Physiotherapists can provide evidence about mobility and physical support needs. Psychologists may assess cognitive function and behavioural support requirements. Behaviour support practitioners can document complex support needs that require Robust design features.

Look for an OT with experience in SDA assessments specifically. Not all occupational therapists are familiar with NDIS SDA eligibility criteria or the level of detail the NDIA requires. Your support coordinator can often recommend OTs who regularly conduct these assessments and understand what evidence strengthens an application.

Many Melbourne-based support coordinators work with experienced OTs who understand Victorian housing contexts. They know local accessibility considerations, public transport options, and community amenities that matter to families making housing decisions.

The OT conducting your assessment should understand the six functional capacity domains the NDIA evaluates: communication, learning, mobility, self-care, self-management, and social interaction. They'll assess how your disability affects each domain and document why standard housing cannot adequately support your needs.

The Functional Capacity Assessment: What It Involves

The functional capacity assessment examines how your disability affects daily living across six key domains. Your OT will discuss each domain in detail, asking about current challenges and how housing design impacts your independence and safety.

Communication: How your disability affects your ability to communicate needs, understand information, and interact with others. This includes assistive technology needs.

Learning: How you process information, learn new tasks, and adapt to new situations. This matters because housing transitions require learning new routines and environments.

Mobility: Your physical ability to move around independently, use mobility aids, and access different areas of a home. The OT will observe how you navigate spaces.

Self-care: Your capacity to manage personal hygiene, dressing, eating, and other daily care tasks. The assessment considers current support needs and whether housing design affects your ability to manage these tasks.

Self-management: How you make decisions, manage time, plan activities, and regulate behaviour. This domain is particularly relevant for participants who may need Improved Liveability or Robust design features.

Social interaction: Your ability to engage with others, maintain relationships, and participate in community life. This includes whether current housing limits your social connections.

What Questions Will I Be Asked?

The OT will ask detailed questions about your typical day. They want to understand specific challenges, not general descriptions. Be prepared to discuss:

• What tasks you can do independently versus with support
• Specific incidents where your housing created safety risks or limited your independence
• How many hours of support you currently receive and when
• What accessibility features you need but don't currently have
• How your current housing affects your ability to maintain family and community connections
• Examples of how you've been injured or had close calls due to housing inadequacy
• What modifications you've already tried and why they haven't been sufficient

Bring your support workers or family members who can provide examples. The NDIA values specific, documented evidence over general statements. "My bathroom isn't accessible" is less compelling than "Last month I fell twice trying to transfer into the shower because there's no ceiling hoist and the doorway is too narrow for my wheelchair to enter safely."

The OT will also discuss your housing goals. Where do you want to live? Near family? Close to specific services or community connections? Understanding your preferences helps the OT recommend appropriate housing options.

How Long Does the Assessment Take?

Most SDA functional capacity assessments take 2-4 hours. The timeline depends on the complexity of your needs and how much documentation the OT needs to gather.

The assessment might happen over multiple sessions if you need breaks, if the OT needs to observe you at different times of day, or if they need to gather additional evidence from other professionals. This is completely normal. Take the breaks you need and don't feel pressured to rush through the process.

Some OTs conduct the assessment at your current home, which allows them to observe firsthand how your housing creates barriers. Others assess you at their clinic. Home visits often provide stronger evidence because the OT can photograph inadequate features and document specific problems.

How to Prepare for Your SDA Assessment

Preparation makes a genuine difference to assessment outcomes. Families who gather comprehensive documentation beforehand give the OT strong evidence to support their application. Start preparing 2-3 months before your scheduled assessment.

Gather medical and allied health reports. Collect recent reports from doctors, specialists, therapists, and other health professionals. The OT needs to understand your diagnosis, prognosis, and whether your condition is permanent or likely to improve. Reports should be recent (within the last 12 months).

Compile support worker notes. Daily progress notes from support workers show patterns the OT needs to see. Gather three to six months of notes if possible. These demonstrate consistent support needs rather than isolated incidents.

Document specific incidents. Create a list of specific examples where your current housing has limited your independence, created safety risks, or required emergency intervention. Include dates if possible. "Three times in the last month" is more powerful than "sometimes."

Prepare examples of daily challenges. Think through a typical day and identify every point where housing design creates barriers. Getting in and out of bed? Accessing the bathroom? Using the kitchen? Moving between rooms? Entering and exiting the property? Write these down with details.

List what hasn't worked. Document modifications or solutions you've already tried. The NDIA needs to see that standard housing modifications aren't sufficient. If you've tried portable ramps, bathroom aids, or other equipment and they haven't solved the problem, document this.

Define your housing goals clearly. Where do you want to live? Why does location matter? What design features do you absolutely need versus what would be nice to have? Being specific about your goals helps the OT make tailored recommendations.

Create a support map. List everyone currently providing support, how many hours per week, and what tasks they assist with. Include both paid support workers and informal supports like family members.

Involve family members or carers. Ask people who support you regularly to attend the assessment or provide written statements. They see daily challenges you might have become so accustomed to that you don't mention them.

Be honest about challenges. Some families worry that being "too disabled" will work against them, or they're reluctant to admit how much support they need. The opposite is true. The NDIA funds SDA for people with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. Understating your challenges weakens your application.

What to Expect During the Assessment

Most assessments happen either at your current home or at the OT's clinic. Home visits are common because they allow the OT to observe your actual living environment and document specific inadequacies. Clinic assessments work well when the focus is on functional capacity rather than current housing problems.

Your family members, support workers, or carers should attend. The OT wants to hear from people who understand your daily support needs and can provide examples. Multiple perspectives strengthen the evidence base.

The assessment typically follows this flow:

Medical history and diagnosis discussion. The OT reviews your disability, when it occurred, whether it's permanent, and what medical professionals have documented. This establishes the foundation for understanding your support needs.

Daily routine walkthrough. You'll describe a typical day from waking up through bedtime. The OT asks detailed questions about each activity: how you manage it, what support you need, what's difficult, and what's dangerous or impossible in your current housing.

Functional task observation. The OT may observe you performing certain tasks, depending on your disability and mobility. This isn't about testing you, but understanding firsthand how you navigate physical spaces, use mobility aids, or manage daily activities.

Current housing discussion. The OT examines how your current housing creates barriers or safety risks. If the assessment is at your home, they'll photograph problem areas. Be specific about what doesn't work and why.

Support needs documentation. You'll discuss your current support arrangements, how many hours you receive, what tasks require support, and whether housing design affects your support needs. For example, if support workers struggle to assist you safely because your bathroom isn't accessible, that's relevant evidence.

Housing goals and preferences. The OT asks where you want to live and why. Proximity to family and community connections is completely valid. Understanding SDA eligibility criteria includes consideration of your chosen location's availability.

It's completely normal to feel nervous during the assessment. You're sharing personal information about challenges that may be frustrating or embarrassing to discuss. OTs conducting these assessments understand this. It's okay to take breaks, ask questions, or have support people speak for you when needed.

If you become overwhelmed during the assessment, tell the OT. They can break the session into shorter segments, schedule a follow-up, or adjust their approach. The goal is to gather accurate information about your needs, which requires you to feel comfortable enough to be honest.

After the Assessment: What Happens Next?

Once the assessment is complete, the OT prepares a comprehensive report. This typically takes 2-6 weeks, though timelines vary depending on the OT's workload and how much additional information they need to gather. Some OTs have backlogs of several months; others complete reports within two weeks. Ask your OT for their expected timeline.

The report documents your functional limitations across all six domains, describes how your current housing fails to meet your needs, explains why standard housing modifications aren't sufficient, and recommends an appropriate SDA design category. The report should include specific examples from your assessment and reference supporting evidence from other professionals.

Your support coordinator or you (if self-managed) submit this report to the NDIA as part of your SDA funding application. The report is the primary evidence the NDIA uses to determine whether you're eligible for SDA funding and which design category you qualify for.

The NDIA review process typically takes 4-8 weeks, though complex cases can take 3-6 months. The NDIA may request additional evidence from your OT or other health professionals if they need clarification. This isn't necessarily bad; it often means the NDIA is considering your application seriously and wants to ensure they have complete information.

If the NDIA approves your SDA funding, they'll include it in your NDIS plan along with your approved design category. At this point, you can start browsing available SDA homes that match your design category and preferred location. Keep in mind that finding the right property can take time, particularly for specific design categories or locations.

If the assessment doesn't support SDA eligibility, this doesn't mean you'll never qualify. Circumstances change. If your needs increase, your housing situation deteriorates, or you gather additional supporting evidence, you can request a plan review and potentially reapply. Speak with your support coordinator about whether pursuing SDA remains appropriate for your situation or whether other NDIS housing supports might better meet your needs.

The process from assessment to NDIA decision can take 3-6 months total. We know that feels frustratingly long when you're ready to move forward. Unfortunately, we can't speed up NDIA processing times. What we can do is help you understand what happens at each stage so you know what to expect.

How Paramount Disability Homes Can Support You

We're SDA housing providers, which means our role begins once your SDA funding is approved. We can't influence NDIA decisions, fund your assessment, or guarantee your application will succeed. The NDIA makes all eligibility and funding decisions independently.

What we can do is help you understand what SDA housing actually looks like once funding is approved. Many families preparing for assessment find it helpful to understand what different design categories mean in practical terms. We're happy to explain what features you'll find in Fully Accessible homes versus Improved Liveability properties, and how these features support different types of disability.

We can also help you think about location preferences. If staying close to family matters to you (and it matters to most families we work with), we can discuss which Melbourne suburbs we operate in and what accessibility features and community amenities are nearby. Understanding location options early helps you articulate your housing goals during the assessment.

Once your funding is approved, contact us to discuss available properties that match your design category and preferred location. We focus on keeping families close, so we prioritise properties in Melbourne's northern suburbs with good transport connections and proximity to community networks.

We can't provide clinical advice about your assessment, recommend specific OTs, or predict whether the NDIA will approve your funding. Those conversations should happen with your support coordinator and occupational therapist. What we can offer is honest information about SDA housing and what to expect once you're ready to move in.

Conclusion

The SDA assessment process can feel daunting, but thorough preparation makes a genuine difference. Start gathering documentation early, be honest about challenges, and involve family members or support workers who can provide detailed examples. The occupational therapist needs to see specific evidence of how your current housing limits your independence and safety.

Remember that the assessment typically takes 2-4 hours, the OT report takes 2-6 weeks to complete, and NDIA review can take 4-8 weeks or longer. The total timeline from SDA assessment to funding decision is often 3-6 months. We know that's longer than most families hope for, but understanding the realistic timeline helps you plan accordingly.

If you're approved for SDA funding, that's when we can help. We provide purpose-built homes across Melbourne designed for people with disability, and we prioritise locations that keep you close to family and community. Call us on (03) 9999 7418 or email admin@paramounthomes.com.au to discuss your housing options once your funding comes through. We're here to help you find a home that works for your family.