Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Construction & Rental
Purpose-built, culturally appropriate housing for people with high physical support needs.
About This Program
Yumba-Meta’s Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) project in Mount Louisa was the first NDIA approved specialist Disability Accommodation in Townsville.
These homes are purpose-built for individuals with high physical support needs, offering specialised features that promote greater independence and safety.
Each self-contained home is constructed to SDA design category guidelines and includes assistive technology and mobility-friendly design features. The project supports residents to live with dignity, choice, and long-term stability.
Key Features
Looking to Rent a
Yumba-Meta SDA Home?
Yumba-Meta has a number of SDA homes available for rent across Townsville, designed for people with high support needs who are NDIS eligible.
To keep listings current and accessible, we use Housing Hub, an external platform dedicated to Specialist Disability Accommodation.
Interested in SDA Housing?
We welcome enquiries from individuals, carers, and service providers. Contact us to check eligibility or arrange a referral.
“My daughter’s doing really, really well since getting the extra help – through the NDIS, support workers step in and do all of the stuff that I’d usually do."
Natusha Kum-Sing
Long-Term Housing Resident
Natusha Kum-Sing
Long-Term Housing Resident
At the end of 2013, Natusha Kum-Sing made the difficult decision to pack up her three children and leave the support network of her extended family in Mount Isa to move to Townsville.
“I have an adult daughter with Cerebral Palsy who needs 24/7 support,” said Natusha of her decision to move.
“Living in Mount Isa, it was just me doing it all myself with no extra support, so there was a whole upheaval with moving and leaving all my family.”
Natusha was able to find a disability home through Yumba-Meta Limited with minimal fuss, and she and her family have been in the same property ever since.
“It’s a quiet area, I like where we are at the moment,” Natusha said.
“My daughter’s doing really, really well since getting the extra help – through the NDIS, support workers step in and do all of the stuff that I’d usually do. It gives me a break and she’s always on the go, doing lots of activities.
“The goals that she’s achieving now are great. It was worth making the move, definitely.”
“We’ve got ourselves a big flat-screen TV and a laptop. A lot of things you dream of when you imagine having a home.”
Elizabeth Barber & Nathaniel Walsh
Long-Term Housing Resident
Elizabeth Barber & Nathaniel Walsh
Long-Term Housing Resident
To look at them now you’d never guess partners Elizabeth Barber and Nathaniel Walsh once called Dean Park home. Back then; life was tough, with drinking and violence an everyday reality.
“We used to be the main two fighting,” Ms Barber said.
“We’d have Domestic Violence Orders out on each other and wake up with bumps and bruises not remembering how we got them.”
The pair used to live down on the riverbank near the mangroves, cooking with a portable stove and relying on stop-gap meals from the nearby drop-in centre and Yumba-Meta’s Reverend Charles Harris Diversionary Centre. It was there they heard about YML’s Breaking the Cycle program and went for it.
“I just got sick of getting up drunk and broke — not even having a shower. That wasn’t a life,” Mr Walsh said.
“There was a point where I had to say enough is enough — I’ve got to change.”
With the help of case workers who were there to listen to their needs, connect them with medical and counselling services and assist with transport to appointments, Elizabeth and Nathaniel were supported in their desire for change.
They had food in their belly, a bed to sleep on and a roof over their head while they waited for more permanent housing at Dale Parker Place when they finished their programs.
Meanwhile, the art therapy and beading workshops offered as part of the program, as well as fishing trips with their case managers and other clients, provided healthy diversions from drinking.
“My first artwork had kangaroos, porcupines and fresh water turtles on a big canvas,” Mr Walsh said.
“Everybody wanted that one but we won’t part with it because it was Lizzie’s 30th birthday present.”
For Elizabeth, beading proved therapeutic and a self-esteem booster as she was asked to make earring, necklace and bracelet sets for admirers of her work.
After completing their programs, Elizabeth and Nathaniel were both offered residences at Dale Parker Place. In 2012 they moved into their own apartment in Belgian Gardens through YML’s community housing service.
“We’re starting to get the things we never had when we were drinking.”
“We’ve got ourselves a big flat-screen TV and a laptop. A lot of things you dream of when you imagine having a home.”
