How can I use Nest as a person with disability?

Nest lists SDA properties from many different providers, giving you access to a wide variety of accommodation options through a simple online search. All you need to do is choose your preferred location and let Nest start searching for suitable properties for you. Having this sort of choice over where you could live wasn’t really available before the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Instead, people with disability were offered housing options based on what was available, rather than their personal needs. Nest is designed to let you choose where they might like to live so you can stay close to your friends, family, community and support needs.

Nest is only for SDA properties so if you have SDA funding in your NDIS package, you can be sure that you’ll be able to use your funding for any properties you find on the site. The properties are also owned and managed by a range of providers throughout NSW, giving you many more options from which to choose the perfect accommodation that matches your needs.

There are several ways you can use Nest.

1) To search for housing options

If you don’t want to register and create a personal profile on Nest, you can choose to search anonymously. This means you can conduct a general search based on the location of your choice and the type of accommodation you are looking for, but without entering any personal information. Nest will find you general results suited to your location preference and accommodation type but not ‘matched’ to any specific support or funding requirements you may have. This level of search allows you to see properties that may be available in your preferred location. However, you will not be able to view room details, save the search or submit applications for vacancies from these searches. To get the best matches, and the best options for you, you need to register with Nest and provide more information about your needs and wants by completing your personal profile. Signing up to Nest is free and we ensure the personal information you provide is kept secure and private. We only share your information with a provider if you choose to submit an application for one of their rooms. We take the privacy of your information seriously and you can read more about it in our Privacy Policy.

When you create your profile on Nest, a lot of the information that you will need to provide is linked to the NDIS funding/requirements that you have. Usually that information can be found as part of your NDIS paperwork or plan. You don’t have to provide this information to Nest, but if you do, the matches that you get will be much better and more suited to your needs and wants.

2) To apply for vacancies

Once you have created a profile, you will have the ability to apply for vacancies and save your favourite properties and rooms. When you apply for a room, Nest will send the provider who listed the property the information you provide in your profile, including your name, where you want to live, the level of SDA funding you have, your contact details, the type of accommodation you are looking for and any features you have requested.

3) To prepare you for moving out in the future

Nest is designed to help people who want to move out now or sometime in the future. When you create your profile, you can nominate a ‘move date’ that is up to two years into the future. This is so you can look at properties that in planning, currently being built or have a room becoming available in the next few months. You can also choose to save your favourites and apply for them when you’re ready to think about moving out, or perhaps changing homes. In the future, Nest is looking to automatically alert you if any of the properties in your favourites become available.

You just need to remember, when you do choose to apply for a room, it does not mean you are automatically approved to live in that space. Your application means you are expressing an interest in that vacancy and would like to be considered by the provider. It is the provider’s responsibility to contact you (and other applicants) to speak further about the home, your compatibility with the house and current residents and if you find it as your perfect fit.