Supported Independent Living ratios can seem technical at first, but they play a central role in determining how support is delivered throughout the day and night.
Understanding these ratios can help participants, families and support coordinators assess whether a Roster of Care genuinely reflects the person’s needs.
If you’ve seen a Roster of Care or a SIL quote, you’ve met the ratios: 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, sometimes 2:1.
They look like maths, but they’re really a description of how support is shared and they’re one of the biggest factors in how Supported Independent Living funding is built.
The SIL Support Ratios at a Glance
| Ratio | What it means | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | One support worker, one participant | Personal care, community outings, times when individual attention is essential |
| 1:2 | One worker shared between two participants | Meal times, shared activities in a two-person home |
| 1:3 | One worker shared across three participants | General daytime supervision and household routines in a shared home |
| 2:1 | Two workers, one participant | Complex physical transfers or high intensity supports |
| Overnight: active | Worker awake and working through the night | Overnight medical or behaviour support needs |
| Overnight: sleepover | Worker sleeps on site, available if needed | Safety and reassurance without active overnight care |
Most SIL arrangements blend several ratios across a week: shared support for routine parts of the day, individual support where it matters, and the right overnight model for safety.
Why SIL Support Ratios Matter for Your Funding
Your Roster of Care, the weekly support pattern your provider proposes to the NDIA, is essentially a schedule of ratios. Because shared support costs less per person than individual support, the ratio mix largely determines the value of a SIL package.
Two things follow from that:
- Ratios should reflect need, not convenience. A participant who genuinely needs 1:1 support for personal care shouldn’t be rostered at 1:3 for those tasks because it’s cheaper — and the functional evidence should make that need undeniable. This is where strong occupational therapy assessments and behaviour support plans earn their keep.
- Housemate matching matters enormously. Shared ratios only work when housemates’ routines, needs and personalities are compatible. It’s one of the first things we assess when discussing our homes in Sydney, the Central Coast, Canberra and the Gold Coast.
What a Blended Week Actually Looks Like
An illustrative weekday in a three-person SIL home shows how ratios weave together:
- 6:30–9:00am — each resident receives a block of 1:1 support for personal care and breakfast routines, staggered so one worker isn’t stretched across three morning routines at once
- 9:00am–3:00pm — residents at day programs or community activities; those at home share 1:3 support for household routines and skill-building
- 3:00–6:00pm — a 1:2 block: two residents cook dinner together with one worker, building kitchen skills; the third has a 1:1 community access outing
- 6:00–9:00pm — 1:3 shared support through dinner, downtime and evening routines
- Overnight — a sleepover worker on site; one resident with epilepsy has documented protocols that would justify active overnight support if night-time needs increased
Same house, five different ratios in one day, each matched to what the moment requires.
When a provider shows you a Roster of Care, this is the picture behind the numbers, and you should be able to ask “why this ratio at this time?” about any line and get a needs-based answer.
How SIL Ratios Change Over Time
Good SIL support is not static. As participants build skills, support can step down — 1:1 blocks becoming shared support, active nights becoming sleepovers.
That’s the point: SIL is a pathway to independence, not a fixed arrangement. Equally, ratios can step up temporarily after a hospital stay; see our hospital discharge support program or during periods of change.
Ratio reviews are evidence conversations. If your needs have changed, the NDIS Plan Review Evidence Checklist will help you document it.
