SIL Assessment
Melbourne
Mobile OT evidence for a Supported Independent Living request, with referrals accepted from anywhere in Melbourne.
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. Flourish prepares the occupational therapy evidence; it does not provide the SIL support-worker service. Read the current NDIS explanation of SIL for the scheme’s service definition.
Not sure which report you need? Compare a general functional capacity assessment with our SDA housing evidence assessment, or review mobile OT coverage in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
- 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
- Mobile assessments, with referrals accepted from anywhere in Melbourne
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 relevant daily tasks. The assessment length and methods are confirmed after the referral scope is reviewed.
Standardised Scoring
The OT selects assessment methods appropriate to the person and the referral question, then explains how the findings relate to functional and support needs.
Report and Delivery
A report is prepared covering the relevant functional domains, patterns of support across the day and night, risks, and recommendations with clinical reasoning.
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
- Relevant assessment findings and the methods used to gather them
- 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 from anywhere in Melbourne
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 whether assistance is provided individually or shared. Overnight evidence describes what actually happens at night: the tasks involved, frequency, duration, risks, and level of response required. The appropriate recommendation cannot be reduced to one universal threshold; it depends on the person’s assessed needs and the full home-and-living context.
Our OT documents the observed pattern and clinical reasoning. The NDIA considers that evidence with the person’s goals, other reports, and available support information, and makes the funding decision.
Funding options for SIL assessments
Funding suitability and the expected assessment scope are confirmed before booking.
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
A SIL-focused OT assessment may also be arranged privately after we confirm clinical suitability and scope.
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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