Design category
Robust SDA: Durable Homes Designed Around You
Very strong, durable SDA homes that reduce repairs and keep residents and the community safe.
What it is
What is Robust SDA?
Robust SDA is one of the design categories of Specialist Disability Accommodation. The NDIS SDA Rules describe it as housing designed to incorporate a high level of physical access provision and be very resilient, while reducing the likelihood of reactive maintenance and reducing the risk to residents and the community.
In plain terms, a Robust SDA home is very strong and durable, so it needs fewer repairs, and the way it is built helps keep you and the people around you safe.
Is it right for you?
Who Robust SDA suits
The NDIA says the Robust category may suit people who need help managing complex and challenging behaviours. When it decides on a design category, it thinks about the triggers for your behaviour, how often that may cause property damage, and the extent of the damage.
It also looks at reports from allied health professionals, the goals you want to pursue, and whether you’ll need different features in the near future, for example if your support needs are changing quickly. If Robust SDA is approved, it is written into your NDIS plan with your building type and location, and it is the category your SDA housing must match.
Built to last
Features of a Robust SDA home
Every new SDA home must meet the NDIA’s SDA Design Standard. Our homes go above the minimum with features like these.
Impact-resistant walls
Impact-resistant wall boarding and solid core doors that stand up to daily wear and tear.
Safety built in
Engineered fire systems and double-glazed windows for greater comfort and safety.
Durable fixtures and finishes
Materials, fixtures and detailing chosen for durability, so the home needs less repair without looking institutional.
Room to live
Extra ceiling height, large bedrooms, individual courtyards and private ensuites as standard.
Space for support
Room for onsite overnight assistance, plus an extra bedroom you can use as a guest room, therapy space or exercise room.
Outdoor living
Sensory spaces, gardens and outdoor living designed with purpose, not left as an afterthought.
Designed with you
How we build a Robust SDA home
We start with the person, not the floor plan. You, your family and your care team tell us about your needs, routines and support requirements, and Occupational Therapists, Support Coordinators and SIL providers contribute before the design is fixed.
The design is then developed against the Robust requirements, the site and the way your carers provide support. Before construction of our Macquarie Fields villas, participants, families and their care teams walked through the homes at full 1:1 scale at Lifesize Plans in Burwood, while change was still easy.
When the home is finished, an independent accredited SDA assessor certifies that it meets the SDA Design Standard, which the NDIA needs before the home can be enrolled as SDA.
Choosing a builder
What to look for in a Robust SDA builder
A Robust home has to perform for years, not just on handover day. Durability is a lifecycle decision: materials and detailing that hold up mean fewer repairs and less disruption in your home.
When you compare builders, ask about:
- Their experience with the SDA Design Standard and the Robust requirements, not only general residential building.
- A design process that starts with the participant’s brief and care team, not a fixed floor plan.
- Who designs, builds and coordinates certification, so nothing falls between separate contractors.
- How the home will be certified by an independent accredited SDA assessor.
SDA B.O.O.T.S homes are designed and built by PNP Constructions, part of PNP Group. Read more about how we work as an SDA builder, and what a registered SDA provider is responsible for once you move in.
Our projects
Robust SDA villas in Macquarie Fields
Among our SDA homes and projects are two custom designed Robust SDA villas in Macquarie Fields, NSW. They share one development, but each home is shaped by its own participant brief and care team, with more than twelve months and 1,000 hours of design and development behind them. The project is in pre-construction.
Compared
Robust SDA and the other design categories
Robust
Very strong, durable housing that reduces repairs and keeps residents and others safe. May suit people who need help managing complex and challenging behaviours.
High physical support
A high level of physical access for people who need very high levels of support, such as a ceiling hoist, backup power supply or home automation.
High Physical Support SDAFully accessible
A high level of physical access for people who have lots of physical challenges, for example if you use a wheelchair at home or can’t use steps.
Improved liveability
Better physical access, with more features for people with sensory, intellectual or cognitive impairments.
Questions
Robust SDA questions
Who decides whether I need Robust SDA?
The NDIA decides your design category as part of your NDIS plan. It looks at reports from allied health professionals, your goals, and which features you need in your home to live there and get your other supports.
Can a Robust SDA home still feel like home?
Yes. Robust requirements are met through the materials, fixtures and detailing we choose, so the home is durable without reading as institutional. Character, gardens and outdoor living are designed in from the start.
How is Robust SDA different from Fully accessible SDA?
Both have a high level of physical access. Robust homes are also built to be very resilient, to reduce repairs and the risk to residents and the community. Fully accessible homes focus on access for people with significant physical challenges, such as wheelchair users.
What makes a home Robust SDA rather than just a sturdy house?
Robust is a formal SDA design category. The home must be designed to the Robust requirements of the SDA Design Standard and certified by an independent accredited SDA assessor before the NDIA can enrol it as SDA.
Do you build other SDA design categories?
Yes. Alongside our Robust villas in Macquarie Fields, our Apollo Apartments in Queensland were built to the High Physical Support standard. See our SDA homes and projects.
You inspire. We empower.
Let us help guide you home
If you have SDA funding for a new home, let us build and design one with you, for you.
Awards & Recognition
