What is an NDIS ILO?

ILO is funding offered by the NDIS that can be used flexibly to purchase the right mix of home-based supports that best fit your needs, and allows you to live in the home of your choice. 

An ILO is created with you, specifically for you, rather than you having to fit within a living arrangement established for others, or an existing service, or having to live with other people you have not chosen.

Because ILO is so flexible, you aren’t tied to a rigid schedule and can adjust your supports regularly as your needs change.

What is an ILO?

An ILO is an annual funded package of support that can enable people with disability to achieve their vision for Home. It is developed with the person with disability and often uses creative and innovative combinations of support that can include partnerships with both paid and unpaid supports. An ILO is never just one type of paid support, it encompasses a combination of supports that best meet the goals and needs of the person at the centre.

You have many choices about how you structure your ILO, and this can change over time as you work out what suits you best. You may choose to live with a friend, or housemate, live alone with tailored drop-in supports, or live with a Host (where you live in the home of a non-related person who provides in-home disability related supports, household assistance, emotional support, and a family environment).

Your ILO package also includes specific funding for monitoring and the redesign of your supports as your needs evolve and change throughout your NDIS plan. This ensures your funding can be used flexibly and you can have assistance working out how to adjust your ILO supports over the life of your NDIS plan.

An ILO should NOT look like:

• a group home arrangement where individuals with disability are grouped together and supported and have not chosen who they live with
• a ‘placement’ where children and adults with disability are placed with a family or other people just to ensure a roof over their heads with no consideration of mutual reciprocity
• a facility, hostel, or other shared accommodation ‘service’
• a program of 1:1 rostered care for 24 hours a day
• standardised solutions where the individual is fitted into pre-existing, inflexible service options that do not take into consideration the specific needs of the individual
• a ‘vacancy’ in an existing setup that someone with a disability can apply for

Here is what the NDIS says about ILOs: