Who This Is For
Built for the people accountable for compliance.
SDA is not ordinary residential design. A dwelling only earns SDA enrolment if its design documentation passes assessment against the SDA Design Standard — first on the drawings, then again as built. If the documentation is loose, the cost lands on you: assessor knock-backs, certifier RFIs, redesign fees and months of delay.
SDA & NDIS Providers
Commissioning new dwellings or assessing sites for enrolment potential.
Investors
Entering the SDA market who need design feasibility before they buy.
Builders
Delivering SDA projects who need documentation a certifier can approve without a fight.
Developers
Adding SDA stock to townhouse or dual-occupancy projects.
What's Included
From feasibility to certifier-ready documentation.
1 — Feasibility & Category Selection
Site and zoning review for SDA suitability. Dwelling type and design category advice — Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, Robust, or High Physical Support. Planning pathway identification for your state.
2 — Design & Documentation
Full architectural documentation in Revit. Every relevant SDA Design Standard requirement annotated on the drawings. Accessibility detailing referencing AS 1428.1 — circulation, gradients, fixtures. Correct NCC classification, fire and acoustic provisions where the class requires them.
3 — Approval Support
Documentation issued for SDA design-stage assessment. Certifier RFI responses handled — corrections, clarifications, re-issues. Coordination with your assessor, certifier and consultants through to approval.
Current Project — Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
NDIS-compliant Class 3 dwelling, Rosebud VIC
Full design documentation including accessibility detailing to AS 1428.1, fire sprinkler provisions, acoustic wall classification and shadow analysis — with the building certifier's requests for information resolved item by item through to approval stage.
This is the part of SDA work most designers can't show you: what happens after the pretty drawings, when the certifier starts asking questions. It's the part we specialise in.
Where We Work
One designer, three states.
The SDA Design Standard is national — but the planning and building approval pathway your project must travel is not. We document for the state your site is in.
Queensland
Design and documentation for SDA dwellings across South East Queensland — Gold Coast, Logan, Brisbane and surrounds — including building approval documentation and coordination with private certifiers.
Victoria
Building design for SDA projects across Melbourne and regional Victoria: planning permit documentation where the scheme requires it, building permit documentation, and design-stage SDA assessment packages — with certifier RFIs handled through to approval.
New South Wales
SDA design across Northern NSW and beyond, documented for either a Development Application through council or a Complying Development Certificate where the site qualifies — we advise which pathway suits your project.
Not sure your site suits SDA? A fixed-fee Feasibility Assessment gives you independent written advice on whether the site supports an SDA dwelling, which design category fits, and the approval pathway — before you commit to full documentation.
Feasibility AssessmentsQuestions Providers & Investors Ask
SDA design, answered straight.
What is SDA housing design?+
Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is housing for NDIS participants with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. An SDA dwelling must be designed and certified against the SDA Design Standard in one of four design categories — Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, Robust, or High Physical Support — and assessed by an accredited SDA assessor at design stage and again as built before it can be enrolled.
Which SDA design categories do you design for?+
All four — Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, Robust and High Physical Support — across qualifying dwelling types including houses, villas, duplexes, townhouses, apartments and group homes.
What does “certifier-ready” actually mean?+
It means the drawing set is documented to the level a building certifier and SDA assessor need to verify compliance without rounds of requests for information: AS 1428.1 accessibility detailing and gradients, correct National Construction Code classification, fire and acoustic provisions where the class requires them, and every relevant SDA Design Standard item annotated — not implied.
Do you work with SDA providers and investors as well as builders?+
Yes. We work with registered SDA providers, NDIS service providers, investors entering the SDA market, and builders delivering SDA projects. We can start from site feasibility, or step into an existing project where the documentation needs rescuing.
Can you design SDA housing in NSW, QLD and VIC?+
Yes — DM Design Collective provides licensed building design services across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, and documents each project for its state's planning and approval pathway.
How do fees work?+
Fixed fee, agreed in writing before any work begins, based on your site, dwelling type and design category. Send the property address and a short description and you'll have a written proposal within 48 hours.
Get Started
Have a site in mind? Find out in 15 minutes
whether SDA stacks up.
Send the address and your project type — fixed-fee proposal within 48 hours.