Frequently asked questions
Is my data private and secure?
Section titled “Is my data private and secure?”Yes. Your organisation’s data is isolated at the database level from every other provider on SILWise, and everything is hosted in Australia, in the Sydney region. You can update your own login details any time under account and security.
How do you keep Centrelink rates up to date?
Section titled “How do you keep Centrelink rates up to date?”Rates come from the Department of Social Services and Services Australia. SILWise stores each rate with the date it took effect and applies the update automatically at each indexation, around 20 March and 20 September, so you never enter a rate yourself. See Centrelink rates for exactly which figures are current.
Do I still need my spreadsheet?
Section titled “Do I still need my spreadsheet?”No. Once your house costs are set up as a cost-centre set and your participants are added, every new calculation reads from that data automatically, so there is no formula to maintain or copy between sheets. Keep your old spreadsheet as a historical record if you like, but new figures should come from SILWise so they stay traceable.
Who is SILWise for?
Section titled “Who is SILWise for?”NDIS Supported Independent Living (SIL) and Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) providers who manage rent and board for participants. If more than one person at your organisation uses SILWise, everyone sees the same figures for the same house, so it works the same way whether you are the only user or your whole finance team is in there.
I am an SDA provider. Is SILWise for me?
Section titled “I am an SDA provider. Is SILWise for me?”Yes. SDA providers collect a Reasonable Rent Contribution from participants, and sometimes board as well. SILWise works both out against the NDIA’s published maximums and the current Centrelink rates. It also handles rent-only houses, where board is collected by someone else or not charged at all. You can mark a house as SDA and filter your house list by it.
What counts as a “house”?
Section titled “What counts as a “house”?”Any SIL or SDA property you operate, whether you own it or manage it under a service agreement. Your plan tier is set by how many active houses you manage - see houses and bedrooms for what a house record holds, and billing and plans to check your current plan and house count.
If rates change, do my saved calculations change?
Section titled “If rates change, do my saved calculations change?”No. Saving a scenario locks in the figures, the rates and the calculation rules used that day, so it keeps showing what it showed then, even after the next indexation. Only a calculation you start after that point uses the newer numbers - see Centrelink rates for when updates land.
Can I fix a mistake in a saved scenario?
Section titled “Can I fix a mistake in a saved scenario?”Not directly. A saved scenario cannot be edited, which is what makes it a reliable record. Use Clone as draft to start a fresh, editable copy from it, and save that instead - see clone a scenario.
How exactly is a participant’s charge worked out?
Section titled “How exactly is a participant’s charge worked out?”SILWise runs the house rent, the cost-centre lines and each participant’s payment profile through a fixed set of rules to produce the Centrelink caps and the proposed charge. See how a calculation works for the full method and a worked example.
Can I split a shared bill unevenly instead of splitting it evenly?
Section titled “Can I split a shared bill unevenly instead of splitting it evenly?”Yes. Any bill billed per house, per 90 days can be given a fixed amount for one or more participants, with everyone else sharing what is left over. See set custom splits.
How do I give someone else at my organisation access?
Section titled “How do I give someone else at my organisation access?”Invite them from your organisation settings and choose what they are allowed to see or change. See members and roles for the roles on offer.
What happens to a house I stop using?
Section titled “What happens to a house I stop using?”Archive it. An archived house drops off your everyday list and stops counting towards your plan’s house limit, but its saved scenarios and PDFs stay exactly as they were. See archive a house.
Can a participant sign their PDF?
Section titled “Can a participant sign their PDF?”No. The house schedule and participant schedules SILWise produces do not have a signature line - they are figures to check and keep, not documents to sign. Sign-off happens on your service agreement with the participant, outside SILWise. See download PDFs for what each document contains.
Still stuck?
Section titled “Still stuck?”Try the search box at the top of this page, or check the glossary for a term you don’t recognise. If you still can’t find an answer, email tomt@agentmail.to.