SDA for rookies: Unravelling the options

Ben lives in a four-bedroom share house with his best mate Zac and a young couple, Maddy and Jack. He picked the kitchen bench, the cabinet colours and - to his mother's quiet despair – frequent Carl's Jr on Uber Eats. Ben’s home is funded through Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).

In this two-part session, you’ll watch a short video of Ben’s home, then Ben opens up on his life: how he met his housemates (online!), how he was involved in designing the build, and what good support actually looks like, day to day. Then Sam, Ben's mum, will walk through the practical side: the eligibility requirements in plain English, what goes in an NDIS plan, when a granny flat is possible, what to do when the answer is "no," and how to assemble the team you'll need.

Honest, open, and packed with the kind of detail you only get from people who have actually done it.

Speakers

  • Ben Paior-Smith

    Portrait of Ben Paior-Smith

    Benjamin is a Community Researcher at the Centre for Social Impact at Flinders University. He draws on his lived experience as a creative individual with Down Syndrome and Autism to inform his work. He also works as part of the Nova Radio Street Crew, as an ambassador and co-developer for the Make it easy App, and as a Digital Champion for Down Syndrome Australia, teaching others with disability how to stay safe online. He has experience with volunteering in the arts sector and working in a number of advisory groups, including the NDIS Participant Reference Group and SA Health Youth Advisory Group.

    Ben is an active member of the LGBTQIA+ community and a graduate of the Flinders University UpTheHill project. He loves his cat Biscuit and Dog Dodger, and is passionate about movies, music, and making them both. Ben moved out of the family home just over a year ago, and now lives with three friends in a sharehouse where he is frequently nagged to empty the dishwasher.

  • Sam Paior

    Portrait of Sam Paior

    Mum, Advocate, CEO, and NDIS IAC Member

    Sam Paior is the founder and CEO of The Growing Space and co-founder of the “Make it easy” app - both purpose driven initiatives created to help people make sense of complex systems and be more in control of their lives, while employing almost exclusively disabled people and carers.

    Sam works and volunteers nationally in the disability sector and is in her sixth year on the NDIS Independent Advisory Council. She also brings something more important - lived experience as a mum to two (stellar) young men with disabilities.

    Her work focuses on making things clearer and more human, especially within the NDIS. Sam is known for translating confusing information into practical, everyday language families can actually use.

    What drives her is simple: to lessen those lost, overwhelmed, alone feelings when supporting their child or planning their future.

    In her presentations, Sam shares real stories, practical strategies, and ideas people can take home and use straight away. She wants families to leave more confident, more informed, and knowing there is a community around them who “get it”.

    Outside work, she’s in the garden, trail running with a dog, or playing bananagrams with her boys – her happy places.

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