NDIS SIL Lead Generation: A Practical Playbook

We've spent time running NDIS SIL lead generation campaigns in the Sydney market. This article breaks down the principles behind an effective approach — not a guaranteed formula, but the framework that consistently produces better results than a generic "Contact Us" campaign.

The first question every provider asks: "should we be on Google?" For SIL housing specifically, Meta tends to outperform Google Search for one reason — the decision-maker is rarely the participant themselves.

SIL housing decisions are typically made by family members, guardians, and support coordinators. They're not usually on Google at 10 PM typing "SIL vacancy near me." They're scrolling Facebook after dinner, and when they see an ad showing a clean SIL property in their area, they stop and enquire. The intent is latent, not active — and Meta is built to capture latent intent.

Google Search tends to work better for support coordination client acquisition, where people actively search "NDIS support coordinator [suburb]."

Property photo ads generally outperform generic creative. A single high-quality photo of the actual SIL property — a clean bedroom, a modern kitchen — with overlay text like "SIL Vacancy Available — [Suburb], NSW" tends to perform far better than stock photography. People can tell the difference.

Video walkthroughs (even shot on a phone, 30-60 seconds) generally beat static images. A short walkthrough narrated by a house manager reads as authentic in a way polished creative doesn't.

Carousel ads showing multiple rooms can pull a slightly higher cost-per-lead but tend to generate higher-quality leads — the viewer has already seen the full property before submitting.

This is where most providers get it wrong. They run a generic "Contact Us" form with name, email, phone — and end up manually calling through a pile of unqualified leads.

Our approach: multi-step qualification questions in Meta's native lead forms.

Step 1: "We have SIL vacancies in [suburb]. Answer a few questions to check if we're a good fit." Step 2: "Is the participant currently NDIS-funded?" (Yes / No / Not sure) Step 3: "Does the participant have SIL funding in their current plan?" (Yes / Requesting at next review / Not sure) Step 4: "What level of support?" (Standard / High / Complex / Not sure) Step 5: "Move-in timeline?" (Urgent / 1-3 months / 3-6 months / Exploring) Step 6: "Which area?" (list your service suburbs) Step 7: Contact details + relationship to participant

Each step filters unqualified leads while increasing commitment from qualified ones. Completion rates drop as you add steps, but the leads that make it through tend to be far higher quality.

Results vary significantly with budget, creative quality, targeting, and how fast you follow up — there's no universal number that applies to every provider. As a general rule:

Rather than quoting specific cost-per-lead figures (which vary by suburb, season, and creative quality), track your own numbers from month one and use them as your baseline for improvement.

Immediately after submission: an automatic SMS confirming receipt and setting expectations for a callback window.

Fast follow-up matters. Leads contacted quickly convert meaningfully better than leads contacted a day or more later — speed-to-lead is one of the highest-leverage things a provider can control.

Qualification call: confirm lead form info, assess compatibility with current housemates, check property availability.

Tour booked: offer a specific date and time rather than a vague "we'll be in touch" — specificity converts better.

SIL lead gen on Meta isn't complicated, but it requires discipline: real photos, qualification questions, fast structured follow-up, and tracking from lead to move-in. If your results aren't where you'd like them, the problem is almost always in the creative, the form, or the follow-up — not the platform.