SINCE he moved out of a nursing home, James Nutt is the happiest he has ever been.
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The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a game-changing reform for the 14,000 people living with a disability in the Hunter.
However, a report released this month by The Summer Foundation indicates the scheme may not bridge the gaps in housing for the 592 people with disabilities aged under 50 years.
The foundation is a non-profit organisation that supports people with disabilities by providing accommodation options and conducting research.
The report projects that by June 2016, nursing homes in NDIS launch sites will need to cater for an extra 40 young patients.
NDIS head office manager Dougie Herd said he was aware of the issue.
"Appropriate housing is a pre-requisite that will enable these people to live in the community," Mr Herd said.
"The support they require to achieve this can be funded by NDIS. However, suitable accommodation must be available in the first instance."
Earlier this year, 29-year-old Nutt was handed a lifeline.
The victim of an acquired brain injury in 2003, Mr Nutt lived in a Muswellbrook nursing home for more than six years before he moved to a purpose-built villa in Mount Hutton.
The $2.2 million customised complex opened this year and provides 24-hour care to six tenants.
Mr Nutt said that aged care was inappropriate accommodation for young people.
"Young people don't need to be, and should never be, in a nursing home," he said.
"It gave me suicidal thoughts from 2005 to 2009 and I was talked down to all the time. It was like a jail."
He hoped more suitable complexes would be built soon.