NDIS Podcast Transcript
In this episode of the Steadway NDIS Podcast, Chris Hall sits down with Jeremy Hope, CEO of the SDA Alliance, President of People with Disability Australia (PWDA), NSW representative on the NDIS Reform Advisory Committee, and a leading advocate for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).
Drawing on both lived experience and executive leadership, Jeremy shares his perspective on the current state of the NDIS as the sector navigates significant reform, funding changes, and growing financial pressures. Together, Chris and Jeremy explore the future of SDA, the importance of collaboration between SDA and SIL providers, participant choice and control, market maturity, innovative housing solutions, and why trust and long-term partnerships are essential to achieving better outcomes.
The conversation also examines the impact of NDIS reform on providers, the evolving role of SDA within the broader disability ecosystem, and why focusing on participant outcomes—rather than uncertainty—is the key to building a stronger, more sustainable sector.
Whether you're an NDIS participant, family member, support coordinator, allied health professional, SDA or SIL provider, this episode offers valuable insights into one of the most important conversations shaping the future of disability housing in Australia.
Read the full transcript below.
Autism Support in Australia: Challenges, Innovation & the NDIS Podcast Transcript
[00:00] Chris Hall:
Welcome to the Steadway NDIS Podcast. My name is Chris Hall, your host, and today I'm very honoured to welcome Jeremy Hope, CEO of the SDA Alliance.
Outside of that leadership role, Jeremy also serves as President of People with Disability Australia, is the NSW representative on the NDIS Reform Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Disability Council NSW.
Today we'll be exploring the current state of the disability sector, SDA, governance, policy reform and Jeremy's lived experience.
Jeremy, welcome to the podcast.
[00:58] Jeremy Hope:
Thank you, Chris. Lovely introduction — very kind. Likewise, I’m looking forward to the conversation. Thank you so much.
[01:05] Chris Hall:
Okay, let’s go into it.
Jeremy, you bring together a rich combination of lived experience, executive leadership, governance and policy experience, as well as a specialism in SDA.
Speaking personally, and also with your SDA Alliance hat on, how would you describe the current state of the disability sector in Australia?
We’re recording this in June 2026, the price guide is about to come out, and there have been a lot of announcements in the recent budget. There’s a lot of context here.
What’s the state of the sector?
[01:37] Jeremy Hope:
I think we’re in a state of flux. There’s panic, anxiety and uncertainty.
Participants are angry, anxious and worried about tomorrow. But as providers, we have similar concerns.
Some providers have been running on an empty tank for five years or so with price guide concerns. Many are already operating very lean and very thin, and now they’re wondering what happens next.
What will reform do to my business? Will I need to change staff? Will I need to change and remap parts of the organisation?
We’re also seeing consolidation, business closures, and people choosing not to renew memberships with peak bodies because they’re trying to conserve costs. They’re asking, “What do I do next? How do I make sure something is still here tomorrow?”
[02:47] Chris Hall:
Agreed.
It really relies on having a strategic response. As a business owner or executive, you need to have a response to that.
Back in 2025, National Disability Services said that 48% of providers made a loss. Every individual business needs to have an answer to that.
At Steadway, we’ve got our own strategic framework for responding to that, in terms of building scalable foundations and systems. That’s a key thing.
I think the pressure is really on executive teams to make it work, no matter what.
What doesn’t work in business is sitting back and blaming the situation, saying, “I wish it was different,” or, “I can’t believe the government has done this or hasn’t done that.”
You need to roll with the punches as they come.
[03:48] Jeremy Hope:
You definitely do.
The “do nothing and wait and see” approach doesn’t work. Panicking and hiding your head in the sand doesn’t work either.
What we have to do right now is find a way to create what feels impossible.
We have a real duty of care and responsibility because we’ve been entrusted with participants we support. That needs to remain our number one priority.
Sometimes the mess around reform gets in the way of what’s important.
But we also need to understand what government is trying to do. We might not agree with the significant reforms or the drastic nature of reform, but many of us understand that what’s happening in the marketplace at the moment isn’t working.
So what I encourage my members, families and other business advocates to do is sit down with solutions and strategies.
What are we taking to government? What are we taking to our boards? What are we doing strategically?
For example, some people have been sitting on land and land banking in SDA. I’ve been saying, rather than land bank, why don’t we build in areas where we know there is guaranteed demand?
Why aren’t we focusing on participants who fit categories that, whether we agree with it or not, the government is likely to fund?
If we read between the lines of “bringing the NDIS back to its original intent,” or the reform language around supporting the most vulnerable people and those with the most significant needs, then government is still talking about supporting people who need support.
Even the most ruthless government shouldn’t turn those taps off.
That’s where I’ve been focusing a lot of my energy: how do we make sure we are supporting the right participants, investing in the right way, and not getting lost fighting battles that may not be won over the next 12 to 24 months?
[06:27] Chris Hall:
Exactly.
The NDIS was always intended to be a scheme that the private market responded to.
From a business ownership and executive perspective, the private market can only respond properly if there is consistency in policy and messaging.
The rate of change can sometimes be terrifying.
Take the last 12 months, for example — even the introduction of funding periods. That’s fine for me because I have a very analytical mind. I’ll pull out an Excel spreadsheet, do accurate dollar-and-cents quotations, and make sure we’re not overspending.
But I imagine the rate of change is still a major concern at provider level. It probably takes people time just to catch up with basic things like funding periods.
Do you have concerns about the rate of change and the number of variables being thrown into the mix?
[07:28] Jeremy Hope:
Definitely.
The rate of change is significant, particularly in a housing market where we’re already working with delays.
Even in a best-case scenario, when we’re having conversations with a SIL provider and a participant, the lead time can be 18 to 36 months depending on what we’re building.
And that’s if councils and development partners work with us smoothly.
The rate of change is concerning because the more stress and uncertainty there is, the less risk people want to take.
Yes, we take educated risks. Yes, we look at analytics and ask where the safer opportunities are.
But uncertainty still causes nervousness, and nervousness causes people to do less.
My fear is that the more concerned we become about the impact on our businesses, the more introspective we become. We slow down, and the less impact we have on providing genuine support to people with disability.
We also become less focused on outcomes.
Instead, we focus on how to make the output work, how to make the dollars work, and how to find the one or two percent margin, rather than asking: if we meet this participant’s needs, will that still get us to where we need to go as a business?
What I’ve found is that 90% of the time, if we genuinely focus on the participant’s plan, goals and needs — and if we’ve actually had the conversation with them, their support coordinator and their family — the mechanics and mathematics are usually okay.
The problems come when we lose sight of what participants are asking for, what their plans say, and what their goals are.
We also need to stay educated about reform.
For example, in the SDA sector, we were caught out for a while not fully understanding that SDA can move across to plan management.
Plan management can give participants a lot of choice and control, which is amazing. But you have to do things differently when SDA is plan managed.
You need to learn how to have that conversation with the participant, their family member and their support coordinator — not automatically with the agency.
A small shift like that can cause a lot of pain. It can cause funding to stop if you don’t understand where the funding is coming from, how to track it, and what mechanisms are involved.
You can get yourself into trouble quite easily.
Then you have to call in experts, spend more money and try to understand what happened.
The smaller the organisation, the more impact the rate of change has on executives and boards. You’re constantly asking: what conference do I need to attend? What paper do I need to read? What trend should I be following?
For larger organisations, the question becomes: how do I control and train my staff? Who do I need to invest in? What funding changes are okay, and what should we be watching?
Those are the concerns.
We’ve seen trends in employment, day programs and social participation, and then we ask: how does this ripple into SIL?
Even small changes can cause SDA providers to pause and ask: if a participant can’t go out one-to-one anymore, what impact does that have on the SIL provider?
Can the SIL provider still meet their staffing needs and pay their bills?
Will that create vacancy risk for us?
Will we need to find new providers?
You can get stuck in a rabbit hole of “what ifs” rather than focusing on what we should be doing.
[12:14] Chris Hall:
Agreed. With our SDA partners at Steadway, we pride ourselves on having deep domain expertise. I'm a firm believer that just because someone has suitable SDA funding—for example, for an apartment—it doesn't automatically mean they should move into that property. Their Core Supports also need to be appropriate to meet their support needs and manage any associated risks.
A real-life example comes to mind. Someone I know had excellent SDA funding for an apartment. From an SDA provider's perspective, it looked like a perfect fit. However, when we assessed their Core Supports, it became clear they were nowhere near sufficient to meet the person's needs. They had severe dysphagia, were at high risk of falls, and would have been left alone for up to 12 hours a day. There were simply too many risks.
That's why I believe there needs to be a very close partnership—not just a relationship, but genuine collaboration—between the SIL provider and the SDA provider. Together, they need to thoroughly assess whether the accommodation and support package are genuinely fit for purpose.
Ultimately, the person comes first. But from a business perspective, it also isn't sustainable if someone experiences a serious fall, injury, or worse because the supports weren't right.
I also think we're seeing the SDA market mature. The days of "mum and dad investors" or self-managed super funds thinking, "We'll just build an SDA house and make a great return," are naturally beginning to fade. I'm pleased to see that maturity developing.
Where I see the greatest opportunity now is in deep domain expertise and genuine collaboration—bringing together the bigger picture and applying systems thinking so the participant truly comes first.
[14:14] Jeremy Hope:
I definitely agree, Chris.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that SDA is simply bricks and mortar. It isn't. SDA is about recognising that a participant is far more than just a home.
The home provides the foundation—it should be the launchpad for an amazing life—but it's only one part of the overall picture.
If we don't establish the right relationships from the beginning, we're setting everyone up for failure. That means building strong partnerships with support coordinators, SIL providers, day programs, employment services and everyone else involved in that participant's life.
I often think back to my days working in SIL, where we'd build what we jokingly called the "magic roster of care." We'd try to find that perfect combination of participants to make the roster financially work—the person with the complex needs, someone with a little extra funding, someone else who balanced things out.
We can't run businesses like that anymore.
What we've learnt over the last few years is that when we genuinely understand the person—their goals, their support needs and who they're compatible with—we achieve much better outcomes.
Compatibility shouldn't just be a checklist to fill an empty room. It should be about asking, "Who will make a wonderful housemate? Who will genuinely enrich this home?"
When we work collaboratively to find the right people, we create opportunities for friendships, stronger neighbourhoods, financial sustainability and long-term success.
That's exactly what we're seeing from sophisticated providers and institutional investors. When you take the time to build strong relationships with support partners and participants, you create a sustainable pipeline.
People want to move into your homes.
Vacancies stay low because you've created environments people actually want to live in.
I've learnt that relationships really are everything.
Whether it's the people I work with or the people I live alongside, those connections matter enormously.
Of course, the location has to be right, the environment has to be right and the design has to be work well—but that relationship piece is absolutely the secret ingredient.
We also need to move beyond relying on a single referral source.
I've been encouraging providers to stop funnelling everything through one contact simply because they met someone at a conference or built one good relationship years ago.
Instead, we need healthy ecosystems.
We need strong relationships across organisations, across communities and across regions.
When we collaborate properly, everyone benefits—especially the participant.
We've recently published several long-form editorials that tell these kinds of stories.
One example involved a participant whose greatest need wasn't simply accessible housing—it was reconnecting with family.
They'd been living in a home that wasn't accessible, which meant Dad couldn't live with Mum and the children.
That family connection had been lost.
Through SDA, the family was reunited.
That's the power of getting it right.
SDA can completely transform someone's life when we stop thinking purely about building houses.
That's why I agree with you that we're moving beyond a retail mindset.
The days of quickly building houses on greenfield sites hoping for easy returns are disappearing.
Those homes are often sitting vacant.
Instead, sophisticated investors and providers are building strong ecosystems that deliver outstanding outcomes for participants while also supporting sustainable businesses for both SDA providers and SIL providers.
[19:45] Chris Hall:
Absolutely.
I'd love to share a quick story that illustrates exactly what you've been talking about.
We recently had someone moving into one of our SDA partner properties where Steadway would be the sole SIL provider.
This participant wanted to reunite with their spouse.
Although their SDA funding was for shared accommodation, we worked creatively with the SDA provider.
We suggested that the spouse—who wasn't an NDIS participant—could contribute around $250 per week in rent under a common lease arrangement.
That additional contribution effectively bridged the funding difference and made it financially viable.
The result?
A husband and wife were reunited.
I love stories like that because they show what's possible when people genuinely collaborate.
[20:51] Jeremy Hope:
You're exactly right.
Sometimes we become so focused on doing things the traditional way that we forget to ask, "How can we do this differently?"
I love creativity and innovation—whether it's in design, funding approaches or participant matching.
Whether it's using Appendix H, exploring Medium Term Accommodation, using a vacant bedroom under a common lease arrangement, or finding other creative solutions—we need to consider every available option to achieve the best outcome.
I have a wonderful friend in Melbourne where both husband and wife received SDA funding at different times.
Their provider worked incredibly hard to find a solution that allowed them to live together.
It required educated risk-taking, detailed conversations and a strong understanding of tenancy legislation alongside SDA rules.
Too often we only have a superficial understanding rather than taking the time to fully explore what's possible.
I also think reform, financial pressure and fear reduce our appetite for innovation.
People wait for the "perfect participant" to fill a vacancy.
The reality is that perfect participant doesn't exist.
Instead, we need to think differently.
Banks, valuers and investors have become far more sophisticated than they were in the early days.
Back then everyone wanted three High Physical Support participants.
Today there's much greater understanding around creating hybrid combinations and managing investment risk.
Instead of relying on one funding category, providers are asking how they can reduce risk while still delivering outstanding participant outcomes.
And let's not forget—there are still around 11,000 to 12,000 people actively looking for SDA.
The issue isn't a lack of participants.
The issue is creating the right opportunities and having the right conversations.
[23:18] Chris Hall:
One of the things that stands out to me is the trust challenge across the sector.
If you think about participants, families, support coordinators, allied health professionals, SIL providers and SDA providers, everything ultimately comes back to trust.
When trust breaks down, the whole system becomes much harder to navigate.
How do we rebuild that trust?
[23:42] Jeremy Hope:
I think it starts with transparency.
One of the biggest lessons I've learnt over the years is that honesty builds trust far more effectively than trying to present the perfect picture.
If something isn't going well, acknowledge it.
If there's a challenge, talk about it.
If you don't have the answer, say so.
People appreciate authenticity.
I also think providers need to remember that every interaction contributes to their reputation.
Every phone call.
Every email.
Every meeting.
Every participant experience.
Over time, those small moments either build trust or erode it.
[24:48] Chris Hall:
I couldn't agree more.
Sometimes organisations become so focused on occupancy rates or KPIs that they forget the human side of the equation.
If you consistently do the right thing by people, those business outcomes generally follow.
[25:06] Jeremy Hope:
Exactly.
And that's particularly important in SDA because participants are making enormous life decisions.
They're deciding where they're going to live.
Who they're going to live with.
What community they'll become part of.
Those aren't small decisions.
They're life-changing decisions.
Providers have a responsibility to make sure participants have genuine information and genuine choice.
[25:53] Chris Hall:
Let's talk about the current state of the SDA market.
There's obviously been a lot of discussion around vacancies.
Some providers are reporting waiting lists, while others have properties sitting empty.
What's your perspective?
[26:12] Jeremy Hope:
The vacancy conversation is far more nuanced than many people realise.
It's not simply a supply-and-demand issue.
There are homes in the wrong locations.
There are homes designed for participant cohorts that don't exist in those areas.
There are homes where the design doesn't align with participant preferences.
There are homes where the support ecosystem hasn't been established.
Simply building a property doesn't guarantee someone will move in.
Providers need to understand local demand, demographics, participant needs and referral pathways before they build.
[27:23] Chris Hall:
That aligns with what we're seeing.
Some locations have incredibly high demand.
Others have far less.
The old saying that "if you build it, they will come" doesn't necessarily apply.
[27:39] Jeremy Hope:
Exactly.
The market has matured considerably.
Institutional investors are undertaking much deeper market analysis.
Banks are asking more sophisticated questions.
Valuers are asking better questions.
Developers are thinking much more strategically.
That's healthy for the market.
It means future developments are more likely to align with genuine participant demand.
[28:34] Chris Hall:
One thing I admire about the SDA Alliance is that you're bringing together providers who would traditionally be seen as competitors.
Yet everyone seems willing to collaborate.
How have you managed to create that culture?
[28:55] Jeremy Hope:
Because we all recognise that the participant comes first.
Competition is healthy.
But collaboration is essential.
The SDA market is still relatively young.
We're all learning.
We're all facing similar challenges.
When providers share knowledge and work together, everyone benefits.
Participants receive better outcomes.
Providers become stronger.
The market becomes more sustainable.
That's the environment we've tried to create through the SDA Alliance.
[30:02] Chris Hall:
And I think that's something the broader disability sector could learn from.
Sometimes organisations become protective of information.
But when we collaborate, innovation accelerates.
[30:16] Jeremy Hope:
Absolutely.
No single organisation has all the answers.
I've learnt just as much from providers, participants, support coordinators and allied health professionals as they may have learnt from me.
The best ideas often emerge when different perspectives come together.
[30:51] Chris Hall:
Let's look ahead.
The NDIS is clearly entering another significant reform period.
There's discussion around foundational supports, support needs assessments and broader structural reform.
How do you see SDA fitting into that future?
[31:18] Jeremy Hope:
I'm actually optimistic.
That might surprise some people.
There are certainly challenges ahead, but I think we're moving toward a more mature scheme.
We're asking better questions.
We're gathering better data.
We're understanding participant outcomes more deeply than ever before.
That gives me confidence.
SDA has demonstrated genuine value.
We've seen improvements in safety.
We've seen reductions in hospital admissions.
We've seen improvements in participant wellbeing.
The evidence continues to grow.
I think SDA has a very strong future.
[32:35] Chris Hall:
That's encouraging to hear because sometimes conversations around reform become dominated by fear.
[32:45] Jeremy Hope:
Fear is understandable.
Change creates uncertainty.
But uncertainty also creates opportunity.
The organisations that remain curious, continue learning and adapt thoughtfully will be well positioned.
I encourage providers not to become paralysed by reform.
Stay informed.
Stay engaged.
Keep collaborating.
Most importantly, keep focusing on participant outcomes.
That principle never changes.
[33:47] Chris Hall:
That's probably the perfect message to finish on.
For anyone listening, we'll include links to the SDA Alliance in the show notes so you can learn more about Jeremy's work and the resources available.
Jeremy, thank you so much for joining me today.
It's been a fantastic conversation.
[34:08] Jeremy Hope:
Thanks very much, Chris.
It's been a real pleasure.
I appreciate the opportunity to have these conversations because they're incredibly important for the future of our sector.
[34:21] Chris Hall:
Thank you again.
And thanks to everyone listening to the Steadway NDIS Podcast.
If you enjoyed today's discussion, please like, subscribe and share it with others in the sector.
We'll see you next time.
Steadway supports people with disability to live independent, meaningful lives on their own terms. As a registered NDIS provider and SDA specialist, we deliver high-quality, personalised supports and acoommodation designed around each person’s goals, needs, and aspirations.
We proudly serve Sydney’s Sydney and Hornsby, as well as the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, and the Hunter Valley. Our experienced team is committed to compassionate, reliable, and forward-thinking disability support—focused on building trust, consistency, and real outcomes that last.