As the year winds down, many of us in the NDIS and disability housing sectors are ready to take a well-earned breath. The holiday season invites us to pause, reflect, and recharge.
But before we do, let’s take one final collective push — to make sure participants who are still waiting for a safe, accessible place to call home find one before Christmas morning.
Because no one should spend Christmas in a hospital bed when they could be in their own home.
No one should wake up in unsuitable housing when there’s an SDA property ready and waiting.
And no family should have to spend the holidays worrying about where their loved one will live in the new year.
Why This Matters Now
The next few months are our chance to come together — providers, coordinators, support workers, and housing specialists — to make meaningful, lasting change before 2025 comes to a close.
Hospitals across Australia are still housing participants who no longer need acute care but have nowhere else to go. Others are living in homes that simply don’t meet their accessibility needs.
This is our opportunity to work differently — to build bridges between hospital discharge teams, support coordinators, and SDA providers so we can get participants where they belong: home.
How Hospitals and Providers Can Work Together
• Establish hospital-to-housing partnerships — creation of SDA and SIL liaison contacts within hospitals can streamline referrals and communication.
• Start discharge planning early — when a participant is considered medically stable, conversations around what they need back in the community should commence – include informal supports, participants, and current supports to get the right outcomes.
• Facilitate joint case meetings — bringing together hospital social workers, support coordinators, and SDA providers ensures the participant’s needs are understood and aligned – so those SDA and SIL connections in the community are vital.
• Share real-time availability — hospitals and providers can create or use shared lists of SDA vacancies, so discharge planners can quickly match participants to appropriate homes.
• Enable short-term bridging solutions — explore respite or transitional accommodation options to avoid unnecessary hospital stays while permanent housing is finalised.
• Focus on wrap-around support — working collaboratively ensures the right mix of SIL, therapy, and community supports are in place before move-in.
When hospitals and providers communicate, we can reduce hospital bed pressure, improve participant outcomes, and return dignity to people who are waiting to return to life outside hospital.
What We Can All Do
• Revisit your case lists and identify participants ready to transition.
• Reach out to SDA providers early — don’t wait for the holidays to pass.
• Cut through the red tape — small administrative delays can mean missed opportunities.
• Keep the participant at the centre — independence, safety, and belonging matter most.
Let’s End the Year Right
This is our season of action — a time to do what our sector does best: work together for people.
Let’s make sure that when participants wake up on Christmas morning, they do so in a place they can truly call home.
If you’re a hospital discharge planner, support coordinator, SIL, or SDA provider with participants still searching, let’s connect now. Together, we can make this a season of new beginnings.
