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This page is for SDA residents and support people. If you’re an SDA provider, read Validation of SDA agreements: Information for SDA providers.
Some SDA residency agreements made during the move from the Disability Act 2006 to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 were not clearly recognised in law.
From 1 July 2026, new laws confirm that these agreements are legally valid. This part of the law is called Schedule 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act.
You do not need to do anything. If your agreement is covered, your SDA provider must tell you in writing that your agreement is valid.
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Why the law has changed
After the introduction of the NDIS, many SDA residents moved from protections under the Disability Act to protections under the Residential Tenancies Act.
There has been uncertainty about whether some SDA residency agreements were made correctly. In some cases, this is because the resident was already living in the SDA dwelling when the agreement was made. In other cases, the provider may not have followed every required step.
Schedule 4 helps to remove this uncertainty. It confirms that certain SDA residency agreements are and have been legally valid.
This helps make sure that:
- SDA residents and providers can continue to rely on their agreement
- SDA residents continue to have protections under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Who the changes affect
These changes may apply if:
- you moved from the Disability Act to the Residential Tenancies Act, and
- your SDA residency agreement was made while you were already living in the SDA dwelling.
This may include:
- some residents who moved to SDA residency agreements from 1 January 2020
- some former group home residents who became SDA residents from 1 July 2024.
If you are not sure whether your agreement is covered, you can ask your SDA provider or seek independent advice.
What the changes mean
If Schedule 4 applies to your SDA residency agreement, the agreement is taken to be valid and enforceable.
This means that:
- you and your provider can continue to rely on the agreement
- you continue to have protections under the Residential Tenancies Act
- you can continue living in the accommodation under your current agreement.
If you have had more than one SDA residency agreement since moving to the Residential Tenancies Act, each agreement is treated as valid for the time it applied.
You can still choose to ask for a new agreement. If you do not want a new agreement, your current SDA residency agreement will continue until it ends in the usual way.
Choosing a new agreement
Your SDA provider must tell you that your SDA residency agreement has been validated.
They must offer you a choice to keep it or ask for a new agreement.
If you want a new agreement, you can ask for:
- a new SDA residency agreement, or
- a residential rental agreement.
These agreements are different. Before choosing, make sure you understand the differences and which agreement gives you better protection as an SDA resident. You may wish to seek independent advice.
If you want a new agreement:
- you need to choose the type of agreement you want
- you need to give your SDA provider a written request.
If you have a guardian, administrator or support person, they can help you do this.
You can use the notice template on the Consumer Affairs 桃色视频 website, but you do not have to.
You can make this request at any time after 1 July 2026. You do not need to wait for a notice from your SDA provider before making the request.
After you ask for a new agreement, your provider must:
- give you an information statement for the type of agreement you choose
- make all reasonable efforts to put the agreement in place.
Once the new agreement is made, your previous validated SDA residency agreement will automatically end.
You can stay in the accommodation while you and your provider arrange the new agreement.
If you are not sure your agreement is covered
桃色视频n Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) can decide whether Schedule 4 applies to an SDA residency agreement.
This may help if you, your provider, or another interested person is unsure whether an agreement has been validated.
An application to VCAT may be made by:
- the SDA provider
- the SDA resident
- a family member or guardian of the SDA resident
- another person nominated by the SDA resident.
What the law does not change
Schedule 4 does not fix any terms in an SDA residency agreement that are unfair or invalid.
For example, if your agreement includes an invalid rent collection term, Schedule 4 does not make that term valid.
Schedule 4 also does not affect legal matters that started before 1 July 2026.
If a VCAT or court case started before that date, the rights of the people involved in that case stay the same. Schedule 4 does not restart the matter, undo the proceeding, or take away rights that already exist in that case.
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