Tenant Voice
Do you live, work or own SDA? We want to hear all about it!
Tenant Voice Hackathon
In the ten years since SDA was launched, we’ve seen incredible outcomes for tenants of SDA – people leaving residential aged care, the family home, public housing, group homes – to live independently in the community. It’s been miraculous, providing the right housing for SDA tenants has meant the right housing and supports deliver the right environment where work and community life is real and achievable.
But it hasn’t worked perfectly for everyone. Some tenants have faced substandard service provision, abuse and neglect or have found it impossible to get SDA in their plans at the right level, or at all. Providers face losses with vacancies, unworkable service delivery models, and are looking to get out of the market. For government, complaints about SDA and SIL represent 25% of complaints to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Advocates are overwhelmed with demand where tenants face constant anxiety about housing security and day to day tenancy issues.
The SDA Hackathon offers a new approach. As a sector we’ve talked a lot about SDA, we’ve gained a lot from presentations, workshops and from co-design. What we haven’t done is sit down together, as consumers, tenants, providers, government, policy and advocates to learn from best practice, and solve problems with everyone’s perspectives, together. Because together is how we get the best solutions, for everyone.
The SDA Hackathon will be held face to face in Sydney, and online, and is open to anyone who wants to work together, as a group of people who are invested in SDA, to tackle some of the thorny problems. We’re open to ideas regarding what in SDA challenges you the most, and we’ll triage the most important issues as they arise. We’ll release some briefing papers before the SDA Hackathon, so everyone feels confident and ready to participate.
At the end of the SDA Hackathon, we’ll have a raft of solutions, innovations and ideas that can solve some of the problems in SDA, which will be delivered to decision makers, providers, and government as a first step to ensure that SDA is the best it possibly can be, for everyone.
When: Tue, 10 Nov, 10am – 4pm AEDT
Where: Crown Sydney OR Online
How to register: SDA Hackathon
Our submission to the Inquiry into the NDIS Amendment Bill 2026
We’re proud to share that Tenant Voice lodged a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee on the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, representing our many reference group members who spent the past year telling us what makes the NDIS (and SDA) work.
From this phenomenal work, our very own Stacey Copas was invited to give to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee for National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. She beautifully spoke to the submission, which she also authored, and provided a much-needed voice to the ways in which the amendment could impact tenants.
Have you read our latest articles?
As well as facilitators, we fancy ourselves as wordsmiths! Please check out our latest articles on the state of SDA and accessibility in society more broadly – and if you have a request, let us know. Happy reading.
- Breaking News – Tenant Voice Gets Heard!
- Mirror Mirror on the Wall, is the NDIA the Most Appealing of Them All?
- Is SDA an Own Goal for improving home ownership rates?
- Local man hires the ghost of Franz Kafka as support coordinator
- When They Come for the SIL, They Come for the Home
- Terminations of Endearment
- SDA: Tenants or Cellmates?
- SDA and Safety: What We Heard, and Where We’re Heading
- Owning Your SDA: An Interview with Marlena Katene.
- Living in SDA? Time to get the police on speed dial.
- The Unfunny Dunny: Because real inclusion has a price tag.
Rewatch Tenant Voice’s 2026 National Forum.
Last year’s national forum was informed by our SDA Reference Groups experience in SDA. We shared our findings, hosted a panel of experts including Senator-Steele-John, and focused on ‘Innovation and Curiosity’ and how consumers can engage with reform.
Rewatch Tenant Voice’s Annual Forum.
What does good SDA look like?
What do the numbers say about SDA?
Over the past few months, we’ve been taking a deep dive into the numbers around SDA – to understand why it’s not living up to its promise. You can read some of our findings here.
A big thanks to SDA Services for sharing their participant satisfaction surveys, highlighting the positive impact SDA has when done well, and Joseph Connellan for his insights into SDA vacancy rates.