The ILO Support Model: Stage 2 Explained
Stage 2 is the ILO itself: the supports set up from the service proposal the NDIA approved. Every ILO has three parts. Primary supports are the people who live with the person, like a host or housemate. Supplementary supports add flexible back-up, paid or unpaid. Monitoring and adjustment are the regular checks that keep it working.
What Are Primary Supports?
The main support at home, from someone who lives with the person and isn't related to them.
Depending on the person's needs, a primary support might help with personal care, cooking, cleaning, emotional support, getting ready for work and being safe at home. The NDIA gives two examples of primary support arrangements.
| Arrangement | How it works |
|---|---|
| Host arrangement | The person lives full time with a host who isn't related to them, in the host's home |
| Housemates | The person lives full time in their own home, or a shared rental, with one or more people who aren't related to them |
How much support a host or housemate gives is different in every ILO. It depends on the person's needs, situation, goals and what meets the NDIS funding criteria.
What Are Supplementary Supports?
Extra support around the primary support, used flexibly, including when the host or housemate is at work, at appointments or on holiday.
- Back-up support for the primary support
- On-call arrangements
- A mentor
- Volunteers and neighbours
- Paid drop-in support, or a support worker staying over from time to time
- Respite
- Structured support from family or friends, like a weekend a month with family
Supplementary supports can be paid or unpaid. The NDIA says they help sustain the primary support, and its guideline treats having at least one flexible supplementary support as part of a proposal that's likely to work.
Looking for an ILO Provider?
We'll connect you with a registered ILO provider who may be able to help.
What Does Monitoring and Adjustment Involve?
Regular checks that the arrangement is working, and changes when it isn't. It's the shared responsibility of the person and their provider.
Every service proposal has to include a monitoring plan. It says how often monitoring happens, whether it's face to face, virtual or by phone, how the host or housemates, family and friends contribute, and how problems are raised and sorted out. The provider coordinates the plan, and the person can raise an issue at any time without waiting for a check-in.
Our guide to ILO monitoring and changes covers what gets checked and what happens when something needs to change.
What Does the ILO Provider Do in Stage 2?
The provider builds the arrangement and keeps it running.
- Builds and puts the ILO support arrangements in place
- Helps draft the agreements for supports
- Solves problems and resolves disputes
- Monitors and adjusts the arrangement as needed
ILO supports have to be delivered in line with NDIS law and NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission requirements, including the NDIS Code of Conduct.
How Is Stage 2 Paid For?
As one package, quoted in the service proposal and claimed weekly.
The support item is 01_851_0115_1_1, Individualised Living Options - Support Model, claimed per week. It's subject to quotation and has to be a stated item in the plan. The NDIA's form says ILOs are a support package, not individual supports added up into one figure, and that payments to a host should be a general reimbursement rather than an hourly wage. See the ILO price guide for the funding levels.
Questions People Ask
Can my ILO change once it's set up?
Yes. The NDIA says ILO's flexibility means the mix of supports can change quickly, usually without a plan reassessment, as long as funding is spent on the supports described in the plan.
Is the host or housemate a support worker?
Not usually in the rostered sense. They share a home with the person and provide the main support there. The provider sets up the agreements, and the payment arrangements are agreed between the person, their supports and the provider.
Do I get a plan implementation meeting?
The NDIA says it will offer one once the service proposal is approved, to talk you through how to start using the ILO supports.
Keep Reading
- Host arrangementsHow an NDIS ILO host arrangement works: living full time in a host's home, what a host does, how hosts are paid, the back-up around them and the checks.
- Housemate arrangementsHow an NDIS ILO housemate arrangement works, sometimes called co-residency: sharing your own home or a rental with a housemate who supports you, and the rules.
- Monitoring and changing an ILOHow ILO monitoring works: what the monitoring plan covers, who's responsible, how to raise a problem, and how an ILO can change without a plan reassessment.
- 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.
- NDIS ILO providersWhat an NDIS ILO provider does in each stage, the rules they follow, registration and plan management, and what to look for when choosing an ILO provider.
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