The ACT is one of Australia’s smallest SDA markets, distinguished by a near-perfect balance between enrolled dwellings and active participants — offset by the thinnest SIL provider ecosystem of any jurisdiction.
Key figures
| Enrolled dwellings | 211 |
| Participants in SDA | 212 |
| SDA funding committed | $7.6M |
| Active providers | 12 |
Enrolled dwellings by SA4 region
| Region | Enrolled dwellings |
|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | 211 |
Design category breakdown
| Design category | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| High Physical Support | 95 | 45% |
| Improved Liveability | 59 | 28% |
| Basic | 31 | 15% |
| Robust | 17 | 8% |
| Fully Accessible | 8 | 4% |
The ACT has a notably balanced design profile: Improved Liveability (28%) and High Physical Support (45%) together represent 73% of stock, with a meaningful Basic proportion (15%) and small Robust (8%) and Fully Accessible (4%) segments. The IL proportion (28%) is the highest of any jurisdiction — carrying moderate VFM policy exposure but also signalling that the ACT serves a wider participant cohort than higher-complexity-only markets.
Supply and pipeline
With active participants effectively matching enrolled dwellings, the ACT shows full market utilisation — but limited buffer for matching delays in a market this thin. Any tenancy vacancy in a thin provider environment can quickly translate to observable income disruption. The $7.6M annualised funding reflects the territory’s small scale.
SIL depth and asset-level performance
With only 12 active SDA providers, the ACT has the thinnest SIL ecosystem in the country in absolute terms. All provider activity is in the Canberra metropolitan area. This highly concentrated provider market, where a small number of providers collectively manage the majority of participant matching, concentrates operational risk and limits competitive SIL pricing. An investor acquiring an ACT SDA asset must treat the SIL provider relationship as a core investment risk, not a secondary operational matter.
Market view
The ACT’s SDA market is effectively illiquid from an institutional investment perspective. Limited market size, limited transaction evidence and significant provider concentration make it difficult to establish reliable market pricing or attract competitive buyers. Alternative-use values in the ACT are supported by government housing demand and Canberra’s relative residential market stability. The market outlook is stable but structurally constrained — no meaningful institutional growth expected without a material increase in SIL provider depth or new participant pipelines.
Source: SDAHC Research, SDA Market Report 2026. Figures reflect the most recent available NDIS data as at Q3 2025-26. See our methodology and data sources.