Customer journey roadmap

From first enquiry to a home that lasts

How Adenium Living moves a person from an enquiry into a Specialist Disability Accommodation home — the stages, the decisions behind each one, and how long each realistically takes under current NDIS and market conditions.

6–14 weeks
Enquiry to move-in where SDA funding is already in the participant's plan
6–12 months
Current NDIA decision timeframe where SDA funding must be sought — run in parallel via early move-in, not waited out
60–90 days
NDIA vacancy payment window — the commercial clock on every vacancy
5 business days
To notify the NDIA of a vacancy; listings go live on the Adenium Living website, the SDA finder and partner platforms

At a glance

The journey on a timeline

Indicative elapsed time for a participant who already holds SDA funding. Bars show the typical range for each stage; stages overlap in practice — transition planning starts well before the lease is signed.

Core stage Bookend stage (before enquiry / after settling) Variable — driven by NDIA decision timeframes

Where SDA funding is not yet in the plan, the NDIA decision no longer has to sit on the critical path — an early move-in can run in parallel. See the two pathways below.

The funding fork

Two pathways through application review

Whether a participant already holds SDA funding determines everything downstream. Where they do not, we do not simply wait on the NDIA — an internal assessment, an expert panel and an early move-in arrangement let the person move into the right home while the funding decision is pursued.

Pathway A

SDA funding already in the plan

Application review runs on evidence already held. Offer, lease documents, transition and move-in proceed on the standard timeline — 6–14 weeks from enquiry, with move-in typically landing around week 12.

The work here is matching, not funding — the review concentrates on:

  • Compatibility with the existing household, and their views
  • Fit against the dwelling's enrolled design category and building type
  • The support model and how it works alongside any on-site arrangement
  • Reasonable adjustments, assistive technology and equipment
Pathway B

SDA funding not yet in the plan

  1. Internal SDA likelihood assessment. Our SDA team assesses the participant's existing clinical and functional evidence against SDA eligibility criteria and rates the likelihood of a successful funding outcome — before anyone waits on the NDIA.
  2. Expert panel review. Where likelihood is promising but the evidence is thin or dated, our panel of specialist OTs and legal advisors reviews and updates the clinical evidence to SDA standard before the request is lodged.
  3. Early move-in. Where SDA eligibility is assessed as strong and where it is appropriate, the participant can move into the home under an early move-in arrangement while the SDA request is being decided by the NDIA — rather than spending 6–12 months in accommodation that may be unsafe or does not suit them.
  4. Request, review and appeal. The panel supports the home & living request through to decision, including internal review and Administrative Review Tribunal appeal where needed.
Why this mattersThe NDIA decision timeframe stops being a barrier to the person having a suitable home. It becomes a parallel workstream — one that is actively managed and professionally evidenced rather than waited out.
The expert panelEngaged by Adenium Living to strengthen evidence and carry participants through the funding process.
Specialist occupational therapy
Reviews, updates and, where required, re-authors functional capacity and housing assessments so the evidence meets SDA standard — addressing the single most common cause of a declined or delayed decision.
Legal support
Advises on the home & living request and — where appropriate — may represent the participant's position through internal review and Administrative Review Tribunal appeal where a decision needs to be challenged.
Panel independenceThe expert panel is independent. Clinical evidence is reviewed, updated or re-authored only where a genuinely reasonable and necessary need is identified by the treating or assessing clinician. Adenium Living does not influence how clinical evidence is reviewed, structured or presented, and no assessment outcome is directed or guaranteed.

Stage detail

What happens, and what matters, at each stage

What happens at each stage, who is involved, the decisions that shape it, and what realistically stretches the timeline.

Underpinning every stage

Four commitments that hold the journey together

Choice and control

The participant chooses where they live and who they live with. Compatibility is tested with them and with existing residents — never assumed, never rushed for an occupancy target.

Separation of housing and support

Adenium Living is the landlord; the SIL provider delivers support. A resident can change support provider without losing their home, and that is stated plainly in the offer.

Accessible communication

Offers, agreements and notices are explained in a way the resident can understand, with a supporter or advocate present if they want one.

Evidence and transparency

Enrolment, agreements, condition reports and vacancy notifications are documented to NDIA standard — protecting the resident, the provider and the asset.