Summer Foundation

A Care Together Project

A better way of delivering shared support for people with disability who have high and complex needs living in Specialist Disability Accommodation in regional and remote areas.

What was the market failure being addressed?

There is a lack of effective, tenant centred models of support available to people with disability living in co-located specialist disability accommodation (SDA) in regional and remote settings. SDA funding was designed to meet the housing needs of the 6 per cent of NDIS participants (approximately 30,000) with the most complex support needs. While innovation in SDA has been slow to emerge, new approaches for shared support are taking even longer.

People living with complex disabilities and high care needs want greater control and the ability to determine how their support is delivered. At present, the way in which support  is delivered can leave recipients feeling frustrated, disempowered and insecure.

There are significant opportunities to re-imagine the provision of support to people with disability in the context of emerging SDA design, smart technology and, most significantly, by leveraging the needs and preferences of the people with disability who tenant SDA.

There are a range of factors that currently inhibit effective support provision in SDA which include:

• limited capacity of many tenants to direct their own support
• NDIS funding restrictions governing support in co-located SDA
• lack of innovation (ie support in co-located SDA often closely resembles how support has historically been delivered in group homes)
• high workforce turnover

These challenges are significantly amplified when the overlay of regional and remote settings is considered.

What was the project seeking to achieve?

This project involved a co-design process with a group of tenants eligible for SDA. The co-design process looked at whether a co-operative approach is a viable option.

Where the project is at now 

Summer Foundation has sharpened its focus, reaffirming its national mission to deliver better housing and living outcomes for Australians with disability who have high support needs. Since 2021, the organisation has led a co-design process, engaging tenants, support providers and SDA operators to understand entrenched challenges and to test whether a co-operative model of shared support could work, particularly in regional and remote communities.

Stage 1 of the initiative consolidated existing evidence, mapped barriers and critically assessed the alignment between tenant needs and co-operative structures. While the potential of a co-op model was thoroughly explored, the process remained open to all possibilities. Genuine, evidence-driven co-design revealed that what was needed was broader than a single model, so the decision was made not to proceed directly into Stage 2. Instead, Summer Foundation and Care Together honoured participant voices by retaining flexibility in next steps, together developing a high-level tenant-led co-operative concept note for use should a suitable cohort emerge.

This concept note draws directly from lived experience and sector input, outlining how a co-operative could empower tenants, improve quality and value, and foster stronger, more responsive shared support in SDA. The proposed model strongly emphasises tenant voice in governance, decision-making by consent, and the inclusion of tenants, their supporters and workers as members. It also identifies key funding and administration considerations, recognising both the opportunities and regulatory challenges involved.

Currently, Summer Foundation and Care Together remain focused on knowledge building and advocacy while keeping the door open for a tenant-led co-op to be piloted where there is local appetite. In the meantime, Summer Foundation’s broader efforts continue to shape policy, design and scale new evidence-based solutions for 24/7 support. The work completed through the Care Together Program serves as a rigorous foundation for any future pilot, and helps clarify what’s needed for effective, participant-directed governance in shared support models.

As sector strategy evolves, both organisations also see strong value in the potential for a shared services co-operative that can offer back-end and compliance support to smaller, participant-directed initiatives. This will reduce burden and risk, helping future co-ops to be sustainable and NDIS-registered if required.

In summary, while the original path has shifted, the spirit of co-design and local leadership remains central. Summer Foundation and Care Together continue to champion tenant-led change and look forward to the emergence of new pilot opportunities that put power and voice at the centre of disability support, particularly in regional and remote Australia.

Hear from the Summer Foundation

Carolyn Finis, head of Co-Design, Summer Foundation, shared:

“The idea of shared support and the efficiencies that it brings is really something that we want to we want to see leveraged. Sadly, while there’s been some innovation in housing for people with disability, there’s been very little innovation in that area of shared support.

“We know from surveying participants that what works well is flexible care that respects privacy and enhances choice and independence.

“There’s been a lack of general innovation in shared support, and it’s characterised by very high workforce turnover. There’s often a bigger deficit in training and skills that have been provided to that workforce, and there’s just a lack of providers that are available to choose from in rural and remote areas.”