SDA homes are about to change: what the 2026 Design Standard review means for you
8 August 2026
If you're looking at Specialist Disability Accommodation, or you build or provide it, there's a review underway that's worth knowing about before you commit to — or invest in — a home.
What's happening
The NDIA engaged KPMG Australia to conduct an independent review of the SDA Design Standard through 2025–26. Public consultation closed in early 2026, final recommendations are expected by mid-2026, and the NDIA plans to publish an implementation plan later this year.
The important reassurance first: the four SDA categories aren't changing. Improved Liveability, Robust, Fully Accessible and High Physical Support remain the underlying structure. If you already understand SDA categories, that knowledge still applies.
What's under review is the detail within those categories — the specific requirements a home has to meet to qualify.
What's actually being looked at
Based on what's come out of the consultation so far, a few areas are getting real attention:
- Smart-home technology — stronger minimum requirements are being considered, likely relevant for people who rely on environmental controls for independence.
- Emergency power provisions — better backup power standards, particularly significant for anyone dependent on powered equipment (ventilators, hoists, communication devices).
- Bathroom standards — updated specifications, an area that's long been a practical sticking point in existing SDA stock.
- Assistive technology guidance — clearer expectations about how a home should accommodate AT, rather than AT being retrofitted after the fact.
- Outdoor spaces and acoustic standards — improved specifications in both areas.
For High Physical Support homes specifically — the category for people who use electric wheelchairs, need ceiling hoists, or require intensive physical assistance through the day — this is the category where design detail matters most, and where the review's outcomes are likely to be felt first.
What this means if you're searching for a home
If you're weighing up an existing SDA property against something newer or still being built, it's worth asking directly: does this home meet the current standard, or has it been built anticipating the updated one? Neither answer is wrong, but it changes what you should expect long-term, particularly around technology and power backup if those matter for your situation.
It's also a good reason to ask what a home is like beyond its design certification — the category tells you what a property is built to handle. It doesn't tell you who else lives there, or whether the household is one you'd actually thrive in. That's a separate question worth asking every time, review or no review.
What this means if you're a provider or developer
If you've got an SDA project in planning or early construction, it's worth tracking the implementation timeline before locking in final specifications, particularly around smart-home wiring and backup power — both are far cheaper to build in now than retrofit later.
If you're managing existing stock, the review is a natural prompt to audit your current homes against the areas above, even ahead of any formal requirement to do so. Providers who can speak confidently to smart-home capability, backup power and AT-readiness are answering the questions prospective residents and families are increasingly asking anyway.
Where to go for the details that matter
This article is a plain-language summary, not the source. Before making a decision — as a participant, family member or provider — check the NDIS website directly for the current SDA Design Standard and any published implementation plan, since the detail here will keep moving through 2026.
Sources: NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation design standards, Review of the SDA Design Standard (NDIS). This article summarises publicly available information as at August 2026 and isn't legal or financial advice — check ndis.gov.au for the current, authoritative detail before making a decision.