SDA vacancy reporting: what NDIS providers track and why

SDA vacancy reporting is how a specialist disability accommodation provider tells the NDIA that a room in an enrolled SDA home is empty, and tells it again when someone moves in. The NDIS says a vacancy must be notified within 5 business days, promoted, and listed on the NDIS SDA finder (NDIS, as at October 2026).

In short

• SDA vacancy reporting covers which room in an enrolled SDA dwelling is empty, from what date, and how many residents the home holds.
• Vacancy reports go to the NDIA, within 5 business days of the vacancy.
• A vacancy is reported twice: when the room becomes empty, and again, straight away, when a new resident moves in.
• The NDIA lists the vacancy on the SDA finder, where participants and support coordinators looking for housing can see it.
• Vacancy reporting is also the gate to any SDA vacancy payment, which the SDA Rules 2020 allow only in limited cases.

What SDA vacancy reporting covers

SDA vacancy reporting covers the occupancy of dwellings you have already enrolled as specialist disability accommodation, and what you are doing to fill the empty room. It is a record about a dwelling and a room, not about a participant's supports.

As at October 2026, the NDIS says an SDA provider must tell the NDIA within 5 days of a vacancy in an enrolled SDA home, tell the NDIA when a participant moves in, promote the vacancy including listing it on the NDIS SDA finder, keep the property in a good state of repair so that it is safe, clean and ready for a new resident, and prepare the home for a new resident, which includes consulting existing tenants about potential new housemates and respecting their right to choose where they live and who they live with (NDIS, How to manage SDA vacancies).

The same guidance points to the NDIS Practice Standards, which carry quality standards for tenancy management, including advertising and filling vacancies while allowing for notice periods. Notice periods belong in service agreements, and the advance notice period is the time to re-market the home and reduce the days a room sits empty.

Who you report an SDA vacancy to, and how

An SDA provider reports a vacancy to the NDIA, in two places rather than one: an email to the NDIA's SDA vacancies address, and the SDA vacancy online form. Both are expected, not one or the other.

The email carries the vacancy date and the dwelling address, plus your ABN, the number of vacancies and the number of residents in the home. Other points worth knowing, all as at October 2026:

• The same online form is how you tell the NDIA a vacancy is no longer available and you do not want it listed.
• The NDIA says it will confirm within 5 days that your vacancy will be added to the SDA finder.
• The auto-reply to your notification email matters later. It is one of the pieces of evidence asked for if you claim a vacancy payment.
• Move-ins go through the my NDIS provider portal, and the NDIS asks to be told straight away, because new SDA funding starting ends any eligible vacancy claim period.
• A provider who does not give timely notification of a move-in date while claiming vacancy payment is in breach of provider responsibilities.

Move-in dates deserve the same care as vacancy dates. The vacancy opens the reporting, and only the move-in closes it.

Why the NDIS tracks SDA vacancies

The NDIS tracks SDA vacancies for two plain reasons: so a participant looking for housing can see what is actually available, and so providers manage vacancies to reduce the time a room is unoccupied. The responsibility is written in that direction, as managing vacancies to reduce unoccupied time.

Vacancy records also sit underneath payment decisions. SDA payments normally follow a participant living in the dwelling, so when that person leaves, what is still payable depends on the vacancy rules and on the dates you reported. If you are looking at how SDA and SIL prices are set, our explainer on NDIS pricing for SIL and SDA sits alongside this one.

Vacancy payments, and the records behind them

An SDA vacancy payment does not follow from a vacancy on its own. The NDIS (Specialist Disability Accommodation) Rules 2020 set out very limited circumstances in which SDA payments may continue after a participant leaves a shared home, and the NDIS says all of the conditions must apply together.

As at October 2026 those conditions are that the home is enrolled to house 2 to 5 residents; that the participant has died, has given notice they will vacate, or has been given notice to leave because of behaviours that might be a risk to other residents, staff or the participant; that the room is available for another SDA-eligible participant; and that the NDIA has been notified.

Where they apply, the participant is treated as still living in the home until the vacancy is filled, or for up to 60 days for homes enrolled for 2 to 3 residents, or up to 90 days for homes enrolled for 4 to 5 residents.

The evidence the NDIA asks for, submitted as a payment enquiry in the my NDIS provider portal, is the auto-reply email from your vacancy notification, the notice to vacate, and the terminated service agreement signed and dated by the participant showing the last date they lived in the SDA. The payment covers only the eligible days after the participant physically moves out, a claim can be submitted only in arrears once the 60 to 90 day period has lapsed, and vacancy payments cannot be claimed for newly built SDA homes that have never had a participant living in them.

How SDA vacancy reporting differs from SDA enrolment

SDA enrolment and SDA vacancy reporting answer different questions. Enrolment describes the dwelling itself, once, so it can be paid for as SDA: its address, its design category, its building type and how many residents it is enrolled for. Vacancy reporting keeps that enrolled dwelling's occupancy current, every time it changes.

The number of residents a home is enrolled for is set at enrolment, and it then does real work in vacancy reporting, because it decides whether a vacancy payment is possible at all and whether the window is 60 or 90 days. The NDIS keeps its guidance for both in the same place, under specialist disability accommodation for home and living providers (as at October 2026).

What an SDA provider tracks in practice

SDA vacancy reporting is record keeping with dates attached, so the practical task is one list that holds every enrolled dwelling and the state of every room in it. A useful list usually carries:

• the dwelling address and its enrolment details, including the number of residents it is enrolled for;
• each room's status, and the date a room became vacant;
• the date the NDIA was notified, and where the auto-reply is filed;
• whether the vacancy is showing on the SDA finder, and whether that listing still matches reality;
• the notice to vacate and the service agreement end date;
• the move-in date for the next resident, and the date it was reported through the portal;
• the day count running against the 60 or 90 day window, where a vacancy payment is in question.

Two clocks run at once during a vacancy: the 5 business day clock on telling the NDIA, and the 60 or 90 day clock on any vacancy payment. Both are measured in days, and both rest on a date someone wrote down. That is the same discipline as keeping participant plan dates current, which we cover in how to keep track of every NDIS participant's plan and reviews, applied to buildings instead of plans. Our NDIS page sets out how we think about NDIS reporting more broadly.

Common questions

How does an NDIS provider report a vacant SDA dwelling?

An NDIS provider reports a vacant SDA dwelling to the NDIA by emailing its SDA vacancies address with the vacancy date, dwelling address, ABN, number of vacancies and number of residents in the home, and by completing the SDA vacancy online form. The NDIS says this must happen within 5 business days, and that the NDIA will confirm within 5 days that the vacancy will be added to the SDA finder.

What counts as a vacancy in specialist disability accommodation?

A vacancy in specialist disability accommodation is an unoccupied place in a home already enrolled as SDA, which in a shared home means a room rather than the whole dwelling. The NDIS responsibilities are written at that level, including telling the NDIA the number of vacancies and the number of residents in the home.

Why does the NDIS track SDA vacancies?

The NDIS tracks SDA vacancies so participants searching for housing can see what is available through the SDA finder, and so providers manage vacancies to reduce the time a room is unoccupied. The same records support decisions about whether an SDA vacancy payment can be claimed.

Where are SDA vacancies advertised to participants looking for housing?

SDA vacancies are advertised on the NDIS SDA finder, and the NDIS says a home is shown there once the provider submits the SDA vacancy form. Providers are also expected to promote the vacancy more widely, not only to list it.

What happens if an SDA dwelling stays vacant for a long time?

A long vacancy does not attract an ongoing payment. Where the conditions in the NDIS (Specialist Disability Accommodation) Rules 2020 are met, a departed participant is treated as still living in the home only until the vacancy is filled, or for up to 60 days for homes enrolled for 2 to 3 residents, or up to 90 days for homes enrolled for 4 to 5 residents. After that the tenancy management duties continue without a vacancy payment behind them.

Sources

• How to manage specialist disability accommodation (SDA) vacancies, NDIS, as at October 2026
• Specialist disability accommodation (SDA), home and living providers, NDIS, as at October 2026