The ILO Service Proposal: What Goes in It
The ILO service proposal is the NDIA form completed at the end of exploration and design. It describes how the person wants to live, their primary and supplementary supports, the monitoring plan, average weekly hours and the estimated weekly cost. The person completes it with their provider, and has to consent and agree to it. The NDIA uses it to decide stage 2 funding.
Who Fills in Each Part?
The form has three parts.
| Part | Completed by | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | The person, with help from whoever supported exploration and design | Their details, whether the ILO is new or existing, who helped develop it and why they chose it, who's important to them, shared supports, risks, and any behaviour support plan or restrictive practices |
| Part 2 | The person, with the ILO provider | Primary and supplementary supports, social and community participation, monitoring and adjustment, average weekly hours, estimated weekly costs, exclusions, and the provider's declaration |
| Part 3 | The person | Their consent for the NDIA to discuss the proposal with the provider |
What Goes in the Primary and Supplementary Supports?
What each support is, who provides it, how and how often.
For primary supports, the form's examples include a host arrangement, live-in housemates, a live-in paid professional, mentors, and rostered daily or 48-hour supports at negotiated rates. For supplementary supports, it suggests another host, some rostered support, volunteers, a mentor, drop-in or on-call support including a good neighbour, and regular unpaid input from family, such as one weekend a month.
The form also asks about work, study and daytime activities. They're funded separately from ILO, but describing them shows how everything fits together.
Looking for an ILO Provider?
We'll connect you with a registered ILO provider who may be able to help.
How Are Hours and Costs Set Out?
As averages across the whole year, not a typical week.
- Average weekly hours of primary supports, supplementary supports, work or study, community participation and time on your own
- Estimated weekly cost of primary supports, supplementary supports, and monitoring and adjustment
- Whether the proposal includes more support than the person gets now, and why
The proposal has to line up with the ILO support level the NDIA identified, and the provider declares that it does. The form notes that ILOs are a support package, not individual supports added into one figure, and that host payments should be a general reimbursement rather than an hourly wage.
What Has to Be Left Out?
Living costs and anything funded another way.
- Groceries, board and lodging, rent and utilities
- Household budgeting and bill paying
- Holiday expenses, including travel
- Personal care and emotional support while in hospital
- Supports funded elsewhere in the plan, like transport, assistive technology, plan management or allied health
- SDA-related costs, like property maintenance, repairs or vacancies
- Internal provider team meetings, which are a normal cost of business
How Do You Send the Proposal?
To the NDIA, once exploration and design is finished.
The NDIA's guide for providers says to submit it as an enquiry through the NDIS service hub or post it to NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601. The form itself also lists email to enquiries@ndis.gov.au and delivering it in person to a local area coordinator or NDIS office.
The person's agreement matters
The NDIA needs to know the person was involved and agrees with everything in the proposal. Without that, it says the ILO isn't likely to be effective and beneficial.
Questions People Ask
Where do I get the ILO service proposal form?
It's on the NDIS website, on the page about individualised living options, as a Word document.
Who signs the service proposal?
The ILO provider signs a declaration in Part 2, and the person, or someone authorised to sign for them, gives consent in Part 3.
Does the proposal need a behaviour support plan?
The form asks whether there's a current positive behaviour support plan, less than 12 months old, and whether any regulated restrictive practices are used. Not everyone needs one.
What happens after I send it?
The NDIA reviews it and decides whether the ILO supports meet the funding criteria. If approved, stage 2 is added to the plan and the NDIA offers a plan implementation meeting.
Keep Reading
- Exploration and designILO stage 1, exploration and design: what it's for, how the NDIA decides on 30, 50 or 100 hours, what a provider does in that time, and how it ends.
- The ILO support modelStage 2 of an ILO: primary supports, supplementary supports, and monitoring and adjustment.
- ILO price guideThe NDIS ILO price guide for 2026-27: the exploration and design hourly price limits, the weekly ILO Support Model item, quotes, and how hosts are paid.
- Questions to ask an ILO providerQuestions to ask an NDIS ILO provider before you choose: exploration and design, hosts and housemates, back-up support, monitoring, costs and agreements.
- How ILO funding worksHow ILO funding works in an NDIS plan: the two stages, the three stage 2 support levels up to $230,000 a year, what's excluded, and how the funding is managed.
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