In the coming months, Tenant Voice will also be hosting a number of sessions aimed at informing and empowering its audience.
- On 9 September, Stacey Copas, Facilitator for Tenant Voice NSW will present a session on building your own SDA.
- On the 23 September, Sijan Dahal, facilitator for Tenant Voice Victoria, will host a session on navigating NDIS appeals and advocating for yourself in light of the new changes to the scheme.
Here’s everything you need to know on both!
Build Your Own SDA
Is building your own SDA home actually possible for you? That is the question this free Tenant Voice webinar is here to help you answer.
You will hear from two NDIS participants who have built and now live in their own SDA, and from a consultant who has guided many projects from idea to move-in. Together they take us through the whole journey, the real steps, the honest lessons, and the pitfalls worth knowing about, so you can weigh it up for your own situation.
Who this is for
This session is made for NDIS participants who have SDA funding and are thinking about owning their home, and for the family members, supporters, and coordinators helping them weigh it up.
What you will walk away with
- A clearer sense of whether building your own SDA is realistic for you
- An understanding of the end-to-end process and who does what at each stage
- The red flags to watch for, and a realistic sense of timelines, feasibility, and approvals
What we will cover
- Welcome and context: why build your own SDA, who it suits, and what this is not
- Roadmap overview: the phases from first idea to keys in hand
- Two owner-occupier case studies, each with a different design category and model
- Consultant walkthrough: approvals, certification, NDIA enrolment, and where financing risk really sits
- A full Q&A with the panel.
REGISTER NOW: Build Your Own SDA: The Path, The Pitfalls, and People Who’ve Done It
NDIS Advocacy and Appeals
Is challenging an NDIS decision — or securing safe SDA housing — actually something you can do yourself? This free NDIS advocacy webinar is here to help you work that out.
You will hear from Niti Prakash, a lawyer, NDIS advocate and SDA consultant with more than 20 years’ legal experience, alongside Sijan, a participant advocate who shares his own SDA journey — the barriers he had to challenge, the evidence and advocacy that changed the outcome, and what the right home has meant for his daily life. Together they walk through the review and appeal system step by step, the new timeframes that came in with the 2026 NDIS reforms, and what it actually takes to build a winnable SDA case.
Who this is for:
This session is made for NDIS participants who want to challenge a decision or pursue an SDA application, and for the family members, supporters and advocates helping them through it.
What you will walk away with
- A clear sense of which pathway applies to your situation — internal review, ART external review, plan reassessment or plan variation — including the new 90-day reassessment timeframe that applies from 27 August 2026
- Practical know-how for building a strong case: what evidence to gather, how to argue urgency, and what to expect at conferences, directions hearings and the final hearing
- The evidence checklist for an SDA application, illustrated with a real participant’s story of getting one over the line
What we will cover
- Welcome and presenter introductions: the legal, advocacy and lived-experience perspectives in the room
- Choosing the right pathway: internal review vs ART external review vs plan reassessment/variation, and the reformed timeframes
- Making your case at the ART: lodging, case management, urgency applications and how a hearing actually unfolds
- Understanding SDA: what it is, why applications get stuck in the “too hard basket,” and the evidence you need to get it right
- Sijan’s SDA journey, your next advocacy step, and a full Q&A with the panel
Let us know any access needs when you register and we will do our best to meet them.
