By Jarrod Sandell-Hay

Jarrod Sandell-Hay is a disability activist with lived experience of disability and self-determination under the NDIS. 

As we head towards the next federal election, housing remains one of the top concerns raised by NDIS participants in the Every Australian Counts campaign priorities survey. This article by Jarrod Sandell-Hay highlights why it’s time to rethink group homes and push for individualised, person-led housing solutions.

 “The U.S. military evaluates decisions not by their outcomes, but by what was known at the time.” – Scott Galloway

 This idea doesn’t just apply to war rooms and battlefield choices. It matters in public policy too, especially in disability services. We need to ask: Did we make the best decisions with the knowledge we had at the time? And when we learn something new, do we have the courage to change?

 These questions are important when we think about the history and the future of group homes for people with disability in Australia.

 I was born in 1988. By then, large institutions for people with disability were already closing. Group homes were becoming the new “normal.” They were seen as a more progressive and kinder alternative to the terrible conditions found in institutions.

 And for a while, that story made sense. These smaller homes in regular suburbs, run by disability providers, were supposed to offer more freedom and dignity. The worst institutions were shutting down. We were told this was progress.

 But after living through this era and working closely with others in the disability community, I’ve come to realise what many of us already know: group homes were never the end goal. They were just one step in a much longer journey.

 Group Homes Were Never Designed by Us

Group homes were built with good intentions. They were meant to protect people from the harm that happened in institutions. And for some, they did help.

 But these homes weren’t designed by disabled people. They were shaped by the same systems that had controlled institutional care, just moved into smaller buildings.

 People still had to live with strangers. Staff still made the rules. Privacy, independence, and everyday choices were still tightly controlled.

And today, much of that hasn’t changed.

 We Know Better Now

We now have years of research, stories, and official reports, including the Disability Royal Commission, that show:

– Group homes often repeat the same problems as institutions. People are forced to share their lives with others they didn’t choose. Staff still control daily routines.

– Group homes aren’t always safe. There are many reports of abuse, neglect, and harm in these settings.

– They don’t match what the NDIS promised: real choice and control. Instead, they often offer what’s easiest for providers, not what’s best for people.

 Worst of all, group homes have become the default option. Not because people want them, but because there aren’t enough other choices. The NDIS has shown us that tailored living arrangements are possible, achievable, and don’t cost the earth. 

 Why This Matters to Me

This isn’t just theory or policy for me. I’ve seen the harm group homes can cause up close.

 For years, I worked as a peer worker supporting people living in group homes. My role was to help them build connections, facilitate what they wanted, and find ways to live more freely.

 Not long ago, I worked with a man who died in a group home.

 He wasn’t only let down by a provider. He was failed by a system that keeps offering group homes as the “only” option, even when the risks are known. A system that asks disabled people to adapt to it, instead of changing to meet our needs.

 I’ve spoken with so many people who want something different. Who want to live on their own, or with someone they love, or in a space where they truly feel at home.

 But they’re told again and again:

“That’s too hard.”

“There’s no funding for that.”

“There’s a spot in a group home.”

 That’s not real choice. It’s control dressed up as care.

 What Needs to Change

If the NDIS is serious about helping people live ordinary, meaningful lives, then we need to stop treating group homes as the only answer.

 Here is the call to action:

– Fund Individualised Living Options (ILOs) and other flexible supports so people can choose where and how they live.

– Train planners and LACs to support creative, person-led housing plans, not just what’s easiest to approve. The NDIA has previously identified what is needed to ensure person-led home and living options.

– Make a national commitment to move away from group homes as the standard option, especially for young people and those leaving the family home.

– Give people with disability more support to lead their own housing decisions, including peer support, better tenancy pathways, and more self-directed funding options.

 Final Thought

Group homes were created at a time when we needed something better than institutions. But now, in 2025, we know more. We have better ideas. We can do more.

 Like Scott Galloway said, good decisions are judged by what we knew at the time.

 Now we know better. And so must the NDIS.