SIL quote explained: reading a roster of care

The short answer

A SIL quote today is the provider's roster of care: a week-long grid of support hours, split into shared and individual blocks, priced against the NDIS time-of-day and day-of-week limits, plus an overnight line and an allowance for irregular days. The NDIA uses it as one input, then sets your funding itself. Read it line by line before you agree.

People still call it a SIL quote, but a provider does not quote a price that the NDIA then accepts. The provider completes a roster of care with you, and the NDIA considers it alongside your assessments and reports before deciding the funding. The provider guidance states that the NDIA "does not approve or endorse a participant's roster of care" and that the roster "does not determine the amount or type of support" in your plan.

Even so, the roster is where the hours, ratios and overnight arrangements you will live with are first written down.

The documents: template and tool

The NDIA publishes two documents. The SIL Roster of Care Submission Template is a Word form covering you, the provider, your support needs, the evidence relied on and any high intensity requirements. The SIL Roster of Care Tool is an Excel workbook with a seven-day grid where the provider enters, for each block of time, how many workers are on, how many participants they support and your share of that time.

The provider must consult you or your nominee when compiling it. Completed rosters go to the NDIA through its contact page or via your support coordinator with your home and living or reassessment request, and are only required for your first plan with SIL or a change in circumstances that existing funding cannot meet.

The roster is neither your service agreement nor your tenancy agreement; once funding is approved you should have both. You can ask your provider for your roster of care at any time.

Shared hours versus individual hours

Every block in the grid is either shared or individual. A shared block shows a worker supporting two or more participants, written as a ratio such as 1:2 or 1:3; your plan carries your fraction of that worker's time. An individual block, 1:1, puts the whole hour on your plan. A house of three with one worker from 9am to 3pm shows each resident with six hours at 1:3, which costs each plan the equivalent of two worker hours.

The split matters because the NDIA funds SIL "based on your support needs, not your living arrangements". If the roster shows 1:1 blocks, there should be a reason in your evidence: the guideline reserves individual SIL for life-threatening health needs, frequent unmanageable behaviours of concern, or a rapidly progressing condition. Where a provider has assumed 1:1 for convenience, the NDIA may fund it as shared, and the provider must then deliver within that amount.

Look too at what is left out. SIL covers the time you are at home, so hours at work, a day program or community activities should show no SIL support; those are funded elsewhere in your plan. If the roster staffs hours you are routinely away, ask why.

Day, evening, night, weekend and public holiday rates

Each hour in the roster is priced according to when it falls. The 2026-27 NDIS pricing schedule, effective 24 September 2026, defines weekday daytime as 6am to 8pm, weekday evening as 8pm to midnight, and weekday night as hours after midnight or before 6am. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays each have their own rate for the whole day. SIL items come in standard and high intensity versions, with national, remote and very remote columns.

As at that schedule, the national maximum for standard SIL is $73.58 an hour on a weekday daytime, $81.07 in the evening, $82.57 overnight, $103.54 on Saturday, $133.50 on Sunday and $163.46 on a public holiday. High intensity daytime is $79.60 and public holiday $176.84. These are maximums per worker hour, shared across however many participants are on the line, and they change every year, so check the current schedule on ndis.gov.au before relying on any figure.

Two things flatten the weekly total. The NDIA builds an average of 12 public holidays a year into your SIL funding. And many providers claim SIL as a single weekly amount, one fifty-second of your annual regular SIL budget, under a service agreement that attaches a typical schedule of supports; a provider must use weekly or hourly claiming, not both.

Active overnight versus sleepover

The overnight line is priced differently from everything else. A sleepover is a flat amount per night: the worker stays for a continuous period of at least 8 hours, may sleep when not providing support, and is funded when you need up to 2 hours of awake support. As at the 2026-27 schedule the national sleepover maximum is $311.79 per night, usually shared across the residents of the house.

An active overnight is an hourly line at the weekday night rate (or the Saturday, Sunday or public holiday rate), funded when you regularly need more than 2 hours of awake support. Paid by the hour and often at 1:1, it can be the most expensive line in the roster. Where a sleepover worker is woken for more than 2 hours on a given night, the provider may claim the third and later hours at Saturday rates on weeknights, with your prior agreement.

Check which overnight type is shown and whether your evidence supports it. A house that runs an active overnight for one resident with complex health needs does not mean your plan should fund one too; your line can still be a shared sleepover.

How housemates moving in or out changes the numbers

The NDIA's position is firm: "We don't fund vacancies in your shared living support arrangement." Your funding is set on your needs, so if a housemate leaves and the 1:3 line becomes a 1:2 line in practice, the provider cannot increase your price or claim extra from your plan to cover the gap. Service agreements should say how the provider manages vacancies.

There is one narrow exception. Where supports were shared by two or more residents and a participant dies, or exits permanently because of an irretrievable breakdown that critically compromises someone's safety, the provider can claim the departing participant's weekly SIL amount for up to 28 days or until the room is filled. That comes from the departing person's plan, not yours, and cannot be used when someone simply changes providers or is serving a notice period.

A new housemate can trigger a revised roster. If the house moves from three residents to four, shared blocks can run at 1:4 and each resident's cost per hour falls; if the newcomer needs 1:1 support at busy times, the roster may need more staff. Either way, the NDIA only needs a new roster if your own needs change in a way the existing funding cannot meet; smaller changes are agreed between you and the provider.

What to check before you agree

Read the roster and the service agreement side by side. The guideline says a SIL service agreement should cover the ratio, amount and intensity of support, prices, responsibilities, duration and changes, disputes, holidays, and what supports you get if a vacancy arises.

Weekly hours and the ratio of every block match what the NDIA stated when it approved your funding.
Any 1:1 blocks are backed by your evidence and appear in your plan, not just in the provider's assumptions.
The overnight line is the right type (sleepover or active) and shows who it is shared with.
Standard or high intensity is correct for you, with the supporting reports named.
Irregular support days (generally 10 standard or 15 high intensity) are shown separately and the agreement says how their use is recorded.
The agreement states weekly or hourly claiming, and if weekly, attaches the typical schedule of supports.
Vacancies, hospital stays, holidays away from the house and notice periods are each addressed, with no clause that raises your price if a housemate leaves.
Rent, board and utilities sit in a separate tenancy or rental agreement and are not drawn from SIL funding.
The provider is registered for SIL (mandatory since 1 October 2026) and follows the SIL practice standards in force since 1 July 2026.

Reading a SIL quote in South Australia, and what to do next

In SA the roster usually arrives through a support coordinator, and most SIL participants have support coordination funded for this purpose. If you do not, your Local Area Coordinator (Feros Care, Baptcare or Mission Australia depending on your region, or the NDIA where there is no partner) can explain the plan side but will not negotiate with providers for you.

Regional rosters deserve a second look at the overnight and travel lines. In towns such as Kadina, Loxton, Whyalla or Port Augusta a provider's ability to staff an active overnight depends on local workers, and travel to Adelaide appointments is funded outside SIL. Ask any provider, ResicareSA included, to show you the house's existing roster before you agree to anything.

Ask for the completed roster of care template and tool, not a summary.
Match every block against the hours, ratio and intensity in your NDIA funding decision.
Have your support coordinator check the service agreement for vacancy, claiming and notice clauses.
Confirm current price limits on the NDIS pricing arrangements page, because the figures in this guide are as at the 2026-27 schedule.
Keep a copy of the roster and agreement, and ask for an updated schedule whenever the household or your supports change.

Questions people ask

What is a SIL quote?

A SIL quote is the everyday name for a provider's roster of care submission: a week-long grid of support hours, ratios, intensity, overnight type and irregular days, prepared with you using the NDIA's template and spreadsheet tool. The NDIA does not approve or endorse it. It considers the roster with your assessments and reports, then decides the SIL funding in your plan itself.

How is SIL funding calculated?

The NDIA works out the hours of support you need in an ordinary week, the ratio you share them at, standard or high intensity, sleepover or active overnight, and how many irregular days to allow. It prices those against the NDIS pricing schedule limits for each time band, adds an average of 12 public holidays, and states the result as annual regular and irregular amounts.

What does shared support mean on a SIL roster?

Shared support is a block of time where one worker supports two or more participants, written as a ratio such as 1:2 or 1:3. Your plan is funded for your fraction of that worker's hour. Individual or 1:1 support puts the whole hour on your plan and is only funded by the NDIA in limited situations, such as life-threatening health needs or frequent, unmanageable behaviours of concern.

What happens to my SIL funding if a housemate moves out?

Nothing, in terms of your plan. The NDIA funds your SIL on your needs, not on who you live with, and says it does not fund vacancies. Your provider cannot raise your price or claim extra from your plan to cover the empty room. Your service agreement should state how the provider manages vacancies and what support you receive while the room is filled.

Is SIL claimed weekly or hourly?

Either, but not both. Under the NDIS pricing arrangements a provider can claim regular SIL as a single weekly amount equal to one fifty-second of your annual regular SIL budget, if your service agreement records that and attaches a typical schedule of supports. Otherwise the provider claims each support hour at the applicable time-of-day rate. Irregular supports are claimed separately in both cases.

What is the SIL sleepover rate?

A sleepover is a flat amount per night for a worker who stays at least 8 continuous hours and may sleep when not needed, funded when you need up to 2 hours of awake support. As at the 2026-27 NDIS pricing schedule, effective 24 September 2026, the national maximum is $311.79 per night, usually shared across the residents. Check the current schedule on ndis.gov.au, as limits change each year.