{"id":1379,"date":"2025-11-04T11:01:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/?p=1379"},"modified":"2025-11-05T13:06:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T02:36:33","slug":"guidelines-to-meet-the-expectations-of-people-with-disability-in-supported-independent-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/2025\/11\/04\/guidelines-to-meet-the-expectations-of-people-with-disability-in-supported-independent-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidelines to meet the expectations of people with disability in supported independent living"},"content":{"rendered":"

The needs of people with disability using Supported Independent Living (SIL) supports are not being adequately met. Vital new research led by Flinders University\u2019s Caring Futures Institute is helping to change that\u2014paving the way for more effective, rights-based services that reflect the expectations of the people they are designed to support.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This project responds to key recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission<\/a> and the Independent Review of the NDIS<\/a>, addressing national concerns about reactive service models and the urgent need for person-centred practices that uphold and protect the rights of people with disability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past year, Dr Alinka Fisher<\/a> has led a project funded by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing<\/a> (DFFH) to develop practical service guidelines for SIL providers. These guidelines are now complete and are available via the DFFH website.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Dr Alinka Fisher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The guidelines were co-designed with people with disability using SIL, their families, and SIL providers\u2014including support workers, team leaders, and service managers\u2014ensuring alignment with both community and industry priorities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe co-design process was essential to ensuring we prioritised the voices of people with disability,\u201d says Dr Fisher. \u201cWe held regular meetings with a flexible approach, enabling everyone to participate in ways they found comfortable and accessible, making sure we used their preferred communication methods.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This collaborative process shaped guidelines informed by the rights and expectations of people with disability using SIL supports, affirming every person\u2019s right to live a fulfilling, valued life with dignity and respect.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cBy starting with rights and expectations, the guidelines help providers understand not only what to do, but why it matters,\u201d Dr Fisher explains. \u201cThey support people\u2019s right to a home in the community\u2014and to make their own choices about how they live.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The guidelines place strong emphasis on self-determination and decision-making, which emerged as a central theme in the co-design process\u2014and a key gap in current practice.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cPeople want to be in charge of their lives,\u201d Dr Fisher says. \u201cThese guidelines are about supporting SIL providers to make that possible.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The release of these guidelines comes at a critical time, with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission also preparing to launch new SIL Practice Standards. Informed by best practice and current legislation, the guidelines will complement these standards by offering practical, actionable guidance for implementation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Dr Fisher believes the guidelines will have national impact, supporting providers to improve services for people with disability. Academic outputs from the project are also in development and will contribute to global conversations around best practices and rights-based support.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe development of these guidelines was also guided by an international advisory group, and it\u2019s clear these challenges aren\u2019t unique to Australia,\u201d she notes. \u201cThere\u2019s also been interest from the aged care sector, opening opportunities to explore universal standards across support services.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Dr Fisher is now leading a new collaborative partnership to secure funding for the next phase of research\u2014focused on identifying implementation enablers and barriers and supporting the translation of these guidelines into everyday practice.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The needs of people with disability using Supported Independent Living (SIL) supports are not being adequately met. Vital new research led by Flinders University\u2019s Caring Futures […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6575,"featured_media":1381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3205],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inclusion-and-disability"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6575"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}