According to architect Anthony Nolan from Kennedy Associates Architects, the introduction of the NDIS represents a landmark change of policy, by moving responsibility for providing specialist housing for disabled people to the open market.
“One of a series of major shifts within the NDIS is the option it affords to individual recipients to exercise choice about where and how they live, often for the first time in their lives, in consultation with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA),” Mr Nolan says.
“The sector requires housing providers and experienced consultants to work together in an ethical way, to balance the needs of residents with projected investor returns,” he adds.
“These changes demand a massive reprogramming of the housing sector for Australia’s most vulnerable people, and there is much detail yet to be worked through as the framework translates into actual buildings,” Mr Nolan says.
“The government has allocated about $700m per year – when the NDIS is fully rolled out from 2019 – for the provision of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) for up to 28,000 people,” he says. “According to the NDIA, 12,000 of those recipients don’t currently have a suitable home, so the government expects that NDIS funding will enable housing providers to create between 500 and 900 new dwellings across Australia, every year for the next 10 years, to meet that initial demand.”
Under the new framework, SDA housing developers may include NDIS recipients, their family members, community housing organisations, and not-for-profit and for-profit developers.
To encourage private sector investment, the pricing framework has been aligned with the long-term horizons of institutional investors, and developers will be offered incentives above regular market returns. The framework will fund new build accommodation using a combination of annual voucher payments and ongoing reasonable rental contributions.
One of the great unknowns of the new scheme is what shape and form the housing might take, but KAA has unveiled the first of a series of construction-ready designs that conform to the guidelines outlined in the NDIS Decision Paper on Pricing and Payments (see attached release, What NDIS ready housing might look like.).
“The paper sets out that there will be no more than five residents in a single dwelling; that low-rise housing is preferred over medium- to high-density accommodation; and that any new housing will need to be constructed near existing services such as health facilities and public transport,” Mr Nolan says.
“At KAA, we have several designs – including Villas and Manor House + Fonzie Flat schemes – that are ready to build. We also know that the Summer Foundation has done good work on apartments, and Evolve Housing has produced some great mixed-tenure buildings,” Mr Nolan says. “We’ve worked in this area for eight years, and we have embedded in our project delivery systems all of the key features that will ensure that future SDA housing can be delivered in a smooth and streamlined manner.”
So while the sector currently faces an uncertain path that is pebbled with risks – financial, regulatory and occupancy risks among them– it also offers the potential for significant rewards, for both the residents who will benefit from more suitable and sustainable housing outcomes, and the organisations that stand to benefit financially from the new framework’s delivery model.
One thing is certain: the trailblazers who deliver the first new accommodation units under the NDIS SDA housing framework will have to negotiate many layers of complexity before they see their first projects realised, and a highly skilled and experienced design and delivery team will be crucial to their success.
Key terms used:
- NDIA – National Disability Insurance Agency
- NDIS – National Disability Insurance Scheme
- SDA – Specialist Disabled Accommodation
Images are available to accompany publication. Please contact Mr Anthony Nolan at Kennedy Associates Architects to request more details, obtain images or arrange interviews, on 02 9557 6466 or email info@kennedyassociates.com.au.