SIL Assessment
Melbourne
A SIL assessment provides occupational therapy evidence to inform the NDIA's decision about your 24-hour support needs. In-home across Melbourne by AHPRA-registered OTs.
What is a SIL Assessment?
A Supported Independent Living (SIL) assessment is a detailed occupational therapy evaluation of your 24-hour support needs. Conducted in your home by an AHPRA-registered OT, it documents the level of daily and overnight support you need to live safely and participate in your community.
An OT report is one source of information the NDIA may consider alongside a provider-prepared Roster of Care and other available evidence when deciding SIL supports.
- Evidence for support ratios and overnight support type
- 24-hour support profiling including overnight determination
- AHPRA-registered occupational therapists
- NDIS plan-managed and self-managed participants
- In-home assessments across Melbourne metro
What We Assess
24-Hour Support Needs
A full day-and-night profile of your support requirements, broken down by morning, daytime, evening, and overnight periods with recommended support ratios.
Overnight Support
Clinical determination of sleepover or active overnight support. Includes evidence from incident logs, sleep patterns, and nocturnal support requirements.
Self-Care & Personal Hygiene
Bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, continence management, and medication administration. Each task assessed for level of assistance needed.
Household & Meal Preparation
Cooking, cleaning, laundry, household safety, and financial management. Assessed in your actual home environment for accuracy.
Community & Social
Community access, social participation, transport, appointments, and engagement in meaningful activities outside the home.
Safety & Risk
Emergency response capability, fire safety, wandering risk, behaviours of concern, and whether you can be safely left alone and for how long.
Understanding SIL Assessments
Who needs a SIL assessment?
A SIL assessment may provide relevant functional evidence when a participant is requesting new or changed Supported Independent Living supports. Common situations include:
- Transitioning from the family home to supported accommodation
- Moving from one SIL arrangement to another with different support needs
- Requesting a change in support ratio (such as from shared 1:3 to 1:1)
- Applying for active overnight support instead of sleepover
- NDIS plan review where current SIL funding does not match actual support needs
- First-time SIL application as part of the Home and Living pathway
The SIL assessment process
Our SIL assessment follows a structured process designed to document functional and support-needs evidence relevant to the NDIA's funding criteria:
Pre-Assessment Review
We gather existing reports, current support arrangements, NDIS plan details, and the Behaviour Support Plan if applicable. We consult with your support coordinator to understand what support model is being requested.
In-Home Assessment
Your OT visits your home to observe and assess how you manage daily tasks across all domains. This typically takes 2 to 4 hours and includes standardised assessment tools.
Standardised Scoring
We use validated clinical tools including the Care and Needs Scale (CANS), WHODAS 2.0, and other instruments to provide objective, measurable evidence of your support needs.
Report and Delivery
A comprehensive report is prepared covering all 12 functional domains, 24-hour support profile, overnight determination, and numbered recommendations with clinical justification.
What is included in the SIL report
Your SIL assessment report is a detailed clinical document designed for the NDIA's Home and Living decision process. It may inform or accompany the SIL provider's Roster of Care and includes:
- Functional assessment findings across all daily living domains
- Standardised tool results (CANS, WHODAS 2.0, and other validated instruments)
- 24-hour support needs profile broken down by time of day
- Overnight support determination with clinical evidence (sleepover vs active overnight)
- Support ratio recommendations (1:1, 1:2, or 1:3 shared) with justification
- Informal support assessment including carer sustainability analysis
- Alternatives analysis explaining why SIL is the most appropriate model
- Skill development goals framed within a capacity building context
- Cultural and linguistic considerations relevant to support delivery
- Numbered recommendations linked to observed functional deficits
Why choose Flourish Health for your SIL assessment
We are an occupational therapy practice focused on getting your support-needs evidence right, so your Home and Living request rests on a clear, well-structured report:
- AHPRA-registered occupational therapists
- Assessed in your own home, where we can see your real day-to-day and overnight support needs
- OT reports document assessed support needs and may inform or accompany the SIL provider's Roster of Care
- We work directly with you and your support coordinator
- Plan-managed and self-managed participants welcome, across Melbourne metro
Support ratios and overnight support
Recommendations about support ratios and overnight support are among the information the NDIA considers when deciding SIL funding.
Support ratios describe how many participants share one support worker during a given period:
- 1:1 support is recommended when there is a continuous safety risk, complex behaviour requiring full individual staff attention, or full hands-on personal care needs
- 1:2 or 1:3 shared support may be appropriate when supervision or prompting (rather than full hands-on assistance) is the primary need, and housemates are compatible
Overnight support is determined by the level of awake support needed during the night:
- Sleepover support is funded when up to two hours of awake support is required overnight
- Active overnight support is funded when more than two hours of awake support is required, supported by evidence such as incident logs, nocturnal seizure records, or documented night-time wandering
Our assessment documents the clinical evidence for each recommendation so the NDIA has a clear basis for their funding decision.
Funding options for SIL assessments
SIL assessments can be funded through several pathways.
Self-Managed NDIS
You manage your own NDIS funds and choose your providers directly.
- Pay Flourish Health directly from your plan
- Claim from the NDIS portal after each session
- Can generally choose registered or unregistered providers
Plan-Managed NDIS
A plan manager handles your invoicing and claims on your behalf.
- Your plan manager handles invoices and claims
- We work directly with plan managers
- Can generally access registered and unregistered providers
Private Pay
Self-fund your SIL assessments with no external funding or referral required.
TAC / WorkSafe
We accept Transport Accident Commission and WorkSafe Victoria funding.
Your SIL assessment journey
From your first contact to receiving your report, here is how the process works.
Step 1
Get in Touch
Call us, submit a referral, or have your support coordinator reach out.
Step 2
Pre-Assessment
We review existing reports, current supports, and consult with your SC on the request.
Step 3
In-Home Assessment
Your OT assesses daily tasks, overnight needs, and safety in your home (2 to 4 hours).
Step 4
Report Writing
24-hour support profile, standardised scores, and recommendations prepared.
Step 5
Delivery & Follow-Up
Report delivered to you and your support team. Available for NDIA follow-up questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a SIL assessment?
How is a SIL assessment different from an FCA?
How is a SIL assessment funded?
What happens after the assessment?
Can I use my NDIS plan to pay for a SIL assessment?
What does the NDIA look for in a SIL report?
What is the turnaround time for a SIL assessment?
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