8.1
This chapter reflects on general issues associated with workforce planning examined through the committee's inquiry, including matters that the committee expected to be considered in a national workforce plan.
the need for reliable workforce data
workforce regulation; and
workforce planning and market stewardship.
Marketing the NDIS
8.3
In its interim report, the committee recommended that the Government should develop and implement a strategy to market the NDIS as an employer of choice. The committee considered that 'marketing' the NDIS in this way may include public campaigns to highlight the value of the scheme, and measures to promote the sector via secondary and tertiary education settings (recommendation 14).
Workforce plan and government response
8.4
This recommendation was supported by the government, and the NDIS National Workforce Plan 2021-2025 (Workforce Plan) has a significant focus on marketing the NDIS through initiatives in priority 1: 'Improve community understanding of the benefits of working in the care and support sector and -strengthen entry pathways for suitable workers to enter the sector'. In particular, initiative 1 is directed at promoting opportunities in the care and support sector.
8.5
In a supplementary submission, the Department of Social Services (DSS) also provided information about its progress in implementing initiative 1, noting that a communications campaign was launched in August 2021 which 'aims to promote the benefits of working in the sector'. DSS also noted that tools and resources providing information about the care and support sector are available on a dedicated website; targeted jobs boards have been developed and published; and there has been significant engagement with care and support jobs websites and social media channels.
8.6
DSS also noted that targeted communication for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences and engagement with culturally and linguistically diverse people will be included in the next phase of implementation for this initiative.
Submitter and witness views
8.7
Initiatives to attract workers to the disability sector were largely welcomed by submitters, with some emphasising the importance of marketing the sector in a positive way to ensure the right workers are attracted to NDIS workforce positions.
8.8
Other submitters queried how the actions under priority 1 would attract allied health workers to the sector, and unions submitted that the measures would be insufficient to attract and retain workers while issues with underlying workforce conditions persist, such as insecure work and low pay.
Committee view
8.9
The committee is pleased to see that this recommendation has been supported and is being implemented. The committee will continue to monitor the implementation of this initiative along with other measures in the Workforce Plan.
Workforce data
8.10
In its interim report, the committee considered evidence indicating that there is insufficient data on the size and composition of the NDIS workforce, future workforce demand, and potential service gaps. The committee heard that there is both a lack of 'general' data relating to support workers and allied health professionals (for example, total numbers and geographic distribution), and that data about the NDIS workforce lacks more granular details such as the qualifications of individual workers and the needs of specific clients. Submitters and witnesses emphasised the urgency of addressing data gaps to ensure a complete understanding of current workforce issues and projected demand, and to develop an evidence base from which to develop solutions.
8.11
The committee also heard that:
existing mechanisms to collect workforce data are not appropriately adapted to the NDIS or the disability sector; and
there have not been any comprehensive, targeted initiatives to collect data on the disability workforce.
8.12
The committee recommended that the Government develop and implement a strategy to collect, refine and publish data on the NDIS workforce, including development of a national minimum dataset. The committee noted that this strategy and dataset should allow stakeholders to properly understand the size and composition of the NDIS workforce, anticipate demand, and build solutions (recommendation 13).
Government response and workforce plan
Workforce Plan
8.13
In priority 3 of the Workforce Plan, initiative 12 proposes to consolidate and 'provide market demand information across the care and support sector to help providers identify new business opportunities'. Under this initiative, the government proposes that care and support sector market data (currently collected by several government agencies) will be made more accessible to providers, thereby facilitating informed business decisions about market entry and growth.
8.14
In a supplementary submission, DSS also noted that the National Skills Commission was undertaking a study to examine needs of the broader care and support workforce (including disability, aged, veteran and mental healthcare) and 'factors affecting the supply and demand of care and support workers both in the near-term and to 2050'. A report on this study was expected to be completed and provided to the Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business by 30 September 2021.
Government response
8.15
Recommendation 13 was supported in principle by the government. In its response to the committee's interim report, the government noted that it is 'continuing to build and strengthen its data analytics capabilities, including in relation to the NDIS workforce'. This activity includes:
development and publication of estimates of the NDIS workforce on the NDIS Demand Map;
a pilot phase of the National Disability Data Asset;
development of Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031, which notes that a data strategy will be developed to support effective monitoring and reporting of outcomes of the Strategy;
linkage of NDIS data with existing Commonwealth data sources (and state/territory data where possible) as part of the Data Integration Partnership of Australia; and
ongoing data improvements by the NDIA in collaboration with Commonwealth and state and territory governments.
8.16
The response also notes data related initiatives overseen by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (the Commission) including:
a national regulatory data strategy for the Commission and enhanced data analytics capability, which includes data sharing arrangements with the NDIA; and
the NDIS Worker Screening Database, which will provide another source of national data in relation to the NDIS workforce.
8.17
The new disability strategy, Australia's Disability Strategy 2021-2031, was released on 3 December 2021. In relation to data initiatives, it made the following statement:
Governments are committed to collecting and sharing relevant data to support effective monitoring and reporting of outcomes for people with disability in order to drive change. Australian state and territory data, for both disability-specific and mainstream service systems, will be essential for measuring outcomes and tracking the degree of change.
Governments will work together to develop a comprehensive data strategy in 2022. This will ensure data needed to measure outcomes for people with disability is collected, shared and progressively improved over the life of the Strategy. It will also identify where data needs to be linked between systems to improve our understanding of the impact of the Strategy. Linked de-identified data will provide improved disaggregated data, support the development of new measures and deliver deeper insights into how and why certain outcomes occur.
The National Disability Data Asset (NDDA) could provide a better understanding of how people with disability are supported through services, payments and programs across multiple service systems through the linkage, improvement and sharing of de-identified data.
Improving data to track progress against the Outcomes Framework will also support evaluations and policy development, and will lead to improved outcomes for people with disability.
Submitter and witness views
8.18
Submissions received by the committee in 2021 continued to emphasise the importance of collecting and disseminating data about the NDIS workforce to support its continued development.
8.19
The absence of a specific NDIS workforce data strategy in the plan was noted by submitters, and some were also critical of approaches to data collection in the workforce plan being limited to data on market demand. The committee heard that the plan should include measures to address gaps in data about specific sectors of the workforce, particularly in relation to the psychosocial workforce and allied health workforce. Examples of these measures, and other general data gathering measures, that submitters wished to see contemplated in the plan included:
collecting data about specific psychosocial disability workforce characteristics (for example types of qualifications workers hold and types of organisations that employ such workers)
data on what would make existing vacant positions more attractive, accurate benchmarking of costs of providing support, attrition rates in the sector, and why workers enter and remain in the sector
data on actual participant needs rather than just existing service use to determine required size of the workforce, especially in allied health; and
detailed data about all allied health professionals around Australia – not only current disability providers but broader private practice and the community-based workforce – to understand needs at the national, regional and local levels.
Committee view
8.20
The committee recognises the significant steps the government has taken to address concerns about the collection and availability of data to support the growth of the NDIS and measures to improve outcomes for people with disability. Of these, the committee particularly welcomes commitments under the new National Disability Strategy to collect and share data to support monitoring and reporting of outcomes under that strategy. The committee also looks forward to the release of the report by the National Skills Commission in relation to its Care Workforce Labour Market Study, which, at the time of drafting this report, had not been published.
8.21
These broader approaches to data collection to support outcomes for people with disability, and measures such as the development of a national regulatory data strategy for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, may address a range of the concerns raised by witnesses and submitters to this inquiry. However, noting the persistence of concerns about the lack of reliable data about the NDIS workforce raised in evidence throughout the inquiry, it is unclear whether such measures will lead to mechanisms for data collection that are able to generate the type and volume of data required to enable effective workforce development.
8.22
Given the complexity and range of the matters that need to be addressed to support growth in the NDIS workforce, the committee maintains that there needs to be a carefully designed and implemented data strategy to complement workforce planning. This strategy must also consider the needs of individual sectors of the workforce, for example the allied health sector and workers and practitioners providing psychosocial support, as well as understanding the needs and experiences of workers providing support through a range of different employment and service models, such as platform-based services.
8.23
The committee therefore encourages the government to reconsider its position in relation to recommendation 13 in the committee's interim report, and develop and implement a strategy to collect, refine and publish data on the NDIS workforce in an accessible matter including developing a national minimum dataset.
Workforce regulation
Interim report
8.24
The committee's interim report discussed reports that cost and administrative burden are a substantial barrier to providers deciding to deliver services under the NDIS. The committee heard that the cost and administrative burden of registration as an NDIS provider are leading some existing providers to choose to de-register, reduce their service offerings, or to leave the NDIS altogether, and that, as a consequence, some people with disability have reduced access to support.
8.25
The committee also heard that the burdens associated with registration are especially challenging for small providers and in regional, rural and remote areas, and that costs and burden are higher than those in other service systems and funding schemes.
Workforce Plan and government response
8.26
Initiative 10 in the Workforce Plan is to: 'Improve alignment of provider regulation and worker screening across the care and support sector'. This initiative is intended to 'increase the number of workers and providers able to operate in the market' thereby 'providing greater choice and control for participants without compromising on quality and safeguarding'.
8.27
The plan acknowledges that administrative burdens associated with NDIS service provision can deter entry into the NDIS provider market, and that there is currently duplication across the care and support sector, for example, with workers being required to undergo different worker screening checks if they are working in more than one sector. The plan also recognises that 'higher registration and compliance costs for providers operating in the NDIS is a key challenge in attracting providers to the sector'.
8.28
As part of this initiative, the government will conduct a review to 'explore options to achieve greater regulatory alignment across the care sector, including for disability, aged care and veterans’ affairs'. Matters to be explored in the review include 'the merits of streamlining provider audits and worker screening checks, while still maintaining quality'.
8.29
In a supplementary submission, DSS explained that consultation in relation to implementing initiative 10 had commenced, which includes workshops with providers and peak bodies, publishing a background paper and early development of a consultation paper, expected to be release in 2021, and inviting written submissions. Further planned consultation includes online surveys and workshops, with findings from the consultation process to be released in early 2022.
8.30
The committee was also informed that the Commonwealth Department of Health has established a cross-agency taskforce with DSS and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to support alignment of regulation across the care and support sector, and that this taskforce is undertaking consultation across the aged care, disability and veterans’ care sectors on regulatory alignment. Further measures that have been undertaken include:
amending of the Aged Care Act 1997 to recognise the NDIS worker screening check (this occurred in June 2021); and
funding in the 2021-22 Budget for regulatory alignment activities across the aged care, disability and veterans’ care sectors, including establishing a single care and support sector worker screening check, a single care and support sector code of conduct for workers and providers, and piloting of joint auditing and assessments against standards for aged care and disability.
8.31
DSS emphasised that regulatory alignment 'will ensure all participants and consumers are protected by consistent best practice regulation whether they are in aged care, disability or veterans’ care' and that this will be done 'while ensuring differences across sectors are appropriately catered for'. The committee also understands that work on this initiative is being undertaken in tandem with the upcoming review of the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework.
Submitter and witness views
8.32
Submitters and witnesses expressed general support for regulatory alignment across the care and support sector and welcomed measures to reduce duplication for providers and practitioners working across sectors. Regulatory alignment measures may also assist in relieving some of the pressures of thin markets in rural and remote areas of Australia, where allied health practitioners, for example, will generally provide services to a range of clients, not just NDIS participants. SARRAH submitted:
the Plan proposes working toward a genuine and integrated workforce approach, with actions at the national and area/local level, allowing for an enhanced focus on overall community need and service capacity, with greater flexibility and potentially less constraint on innovative approaches; which are too often frustrated by administrative conditions and rigidity, and a lesser emphasis on outcomes, in programs. This is a fundamental and much needed shift in approach.
8.33
Submitters and witnesses, especially from the allied health sector, continued to highlight challenges in the NDIS regulatory environment, and the consequent costs of operating as a registered provider in the NDIS. These challenges included:
the inability for allied health professionals already registered with other regulatory bodies (for example the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) to have this registration recognised for the purposes of operating in the NDIS
a need for more support for new entrants into the NDIS market to navigate the complexities of the scheme
high costs of audits required as part of the NDIS registration process; and
delays and different transitional requirements across states associated with the move to national worker screening arrangements.
8.34
The committee also heard queries around the extent of overlap between disability and aged care workers, with some submitters calling for further justification for regulatory alignment measures included in the plan. Some submitters highlighted the significant differences between disability support and aged care work. For example, Professor Christine Bigby explained:
There's a fundamental difference between supporting people with disabilities and supporting people, for example, who have dementia, who are the dominant group of people who live in residential aged-care services. And you're not providing for people with intellectual disabilities. The aim isn't just to provide personal care. It's not just about attendant care for that group of people. It's about supporting people to be engaged in their own lives and to make choices and to be included in the community. The way you do that is by providing the right amount of support to enable people to be engaged, whether that's hand-over-hand assistance or whether it's prompting them to be engaged.…A different paradigm should be happening in the disability sector compared to the aged-care sector.
8.35
The United Workers Union (UWU), while acknowledging that streamlining regulatory requirements may benefit providers, also questioned whether these benefits would flow to workers. In their experience, workers were likely to have a 'distinct preference for work on one area or another… supported by specific skills and knowledge relating to either disability or aged care'. UWU submitted that maintaining the differences in workers' preferences and skills is important to providing quality services in the NDIS.
Committee view
8.36
The committee notes that the measures in the plan supporting regulatory alignment in the care and support sector appear to have general support from providers and provider representative bodies. These measures may also provide valuable support for efforts to address thin markets for specific NDIS services and in regional, rural and remote locations. The committee therefore welcomes initiatives to simplify regulatory requirements and reduce duplication across sectors.
8.37
While it may not be appropriate for all NDIS providers to be registered, the committee considers that the regulatory requirements associated with registration should, as much as possible, be set at a level to encourage providers to register, in order to ensure that the bulk of service provision under the NDIS is under appropriate oversight by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Issues raised by providers with respect to registration requirements were considered in detail in the committee's inquiry into the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
8.38
The Plan recognises that, in streamlining regulatory requirements across the care and support sector, it is important that participants are safe and receive supports that are of high quality. However, ensuring safety and quality of disability support will in some ways be different to ensuring safety and quality in aged care provision. In particular, quality of care in the disability sector should support people with disability to exercise choice and control in their lives and be included in their communities.
8.39
Any regulatory alignment process therefore needs to protect the goal-oriented focus of the NDIS from being eroded through blunt attempts to streamline regulatory requirements. Such efforts should be done in concert with the measures to define and impart appropriate skills, qualifications and training for NDIS workers, and, in particular, disability support workers. The committee is pleased to see that quality and safeguarding appears to be recognised as a priority in the implementation of these initiatives, with the recently agreed scope and approach to the review of the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework listed as a key achievement in the ongoing implementation of this measure.
8.40
The committee encourages the government to continue to consult widely in the implementation of regulatory alignment measures – across support workers, the disability and allied health sectors, participants, their families and their representatives – to maintain a focus on high quality, safe and person-centred at the core of the regulatory framework for the NDIS workforce. The committee will continue to monitor the implementation of this measure and may consider particular issues arising in relation to regulatory alignment in the care and support sector in future inquiries.
Workforce planning
Interim report
8.41
In its interim report, the committee considered a range of factors that should feature in the government's approach to workforce planning. These included:
the importance of national leadership in workforce planning
the need for coordination and consistency across jurisdictions and service sectors; and
the importance of consultation, collaboration, and co-design.
8.42
The committee was of the view that national leadership is needed to ensure consistency across the NDIS; reduce unnecessary duplication and costs; and ensure that participants are not disadvantaged by gaps at the interface of Commonwealth, state and territory schemes. The committee concluded that a national workforce plan should clarify responsibilities at the Commonwealth level for market stewardship.
8.43
The committee further determined that an effective workforce plan must consider the needs of other sectors in order to understand the fluctuating demands of these sectors and the disability support sector and to understand and address barriers to mobility, duplicative regulation and unnecessary costs. In addition, the committee emphasised that enhancing the interface between the NDIS and other sectors such as health and education is crucial to addressing service gaps, equipping the workforce with necessary skills and qualifications, and supporting better outcomes for people with lived experience of disability.
8.44
As set out in previous chapters, the committee also considered that workforce planning should:
have a core focus on improving workforce conditions (see Chapter 4)
consider thin markets for services (see Chapter 5)
include measures to support employment of NDIS participants in the NDIS workforce (see Chapter 6); and
ensure that workers possess the expertise to deliver safe, quality care to participants (see Chapter 7).
Workforce plan
National leadership and coordination with states and territories
8.45
The Commonwealth government, through DSS, has led development of the Workforce Plan, and DSS continues to lead the implementation of the Plan.
8.46
In her message introducing the plan, the Minister for the NDIS, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, emphasised that work under the plan will be undertaken by Commonwealth and state and territory governments in partnership with participants, industry and education and employment providers to retain and grow the NDIS workforce. Collaboration with states and territories through the development of the plan around complementary actions and initiatives will also continue through implementation to ensure alignment.
8.47
The plan sets out the government's commitment to work with NDIS participants, industry and other stakeholders to grow the care and support workforce and puts forward expectations regarding the role for providers in the care and support sector to support the implementation of the plan. The plan states that it will be 'particularly important' for providers to invest in and focus energy into 'cultural and service model transformation' and 'active workforce planning and investment in skills development and leadership capability'.
8.48
Notably, the plan indicates that the government considers ensuring appropriate workforce conditions are, at least in part, a responsibility of providers, stating: 'Providers have a responsibility to consider their employee value proposition to ensure conditions of employment remain competitive relative to other industries to support the attraction and retention of suitable workers'.
Coordination and consistency across jurisdictions and service sectors
8.49
Coordination across service sectors is also core to the Workforce Plan, driving initiatives such as measures to increase regulatory alignment across the care and support sector. DSS assured the committee that governance arrangements are in place to ensure 'close ongoing collaboration between all of the different agencies at the Commonwealth level that are involved in this plan'. The government has stated that it intends for implementation of the plan to support other government reforms, and this work will include 'collaboration and continued engagement with other workforce plans such as the Primary Health Care 10-Year Plan and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan: 2021–2031'.
Consultation, collaboration and co-design
8.50
DSS advised that the plan had been developed through an extensive consultation process over a 'considerable period', including:
workshops with state and territory disability and skills officials, providers, provider peaks and participant peaks (February and March 2020)
a survey, which received over 570 responses, including from providers, peak bodies, and at least one union (open during February and March 2020)
consideration of the plan and engagement with the states and territories (second half of 2020)
further follow-up around the plan with interested peaks, providers and unions (late 2020)
provision of feedback to the department's Advisory Group on Market Oversight, which includes providers, participant peaks, health professionals and groups that represent key workforce segments, such as the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and allied health; and
final Commonwealth government consultations (early 2021).
8.51
The plan further states that the government will 'work with state and territory governments, industry, providers, participant groups and workers to design and deliver the initiatives in [the] Plan', and notes that this will include:
Convening stakeholder briefing sessions shortly after publication of the Plan, followed by regular updates.
Engagement sessions and working groups to support the co-design of the initiatives in this Plan where appropriate, drawing on the experience of peak bodies, providers and participant groups.
Ongoing collaboration with states and territories on linkages between this Plan and related state and territory initiatives.
8.52
Two sector briefings were conducted in June and December 2021, and a quarterly update, dated October 2021, was published on the Department's website in late 2021.
8.53
Implementation of the plan will also include 'time limited working groups [which] will be stood-up with Commonwealth and state and territory officials and sector representatives to work through issues for particular initiatives'.
Submitter and witness views
Overall views on the NDIS National Workforce Plan 2021-2025
8.54
Submitters to the inquiry had mixed views about the Workforce Plan, with some expressing concern that the plan lacked detail and commitments to specific targets or timelines. Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) submitted that the Plan was 'rife with unhelpful motherhood statements', and were disappointed that the Plan was almost identical to an earlier 'Overview for Consultation' provided by DSS in June 2020. AHPA also pointed out that the Plan does not include minimum elements outlined by this committee in its interim report.
8.55
A lack of clear outcomes in the plan was also observed by Purpose at Work, which surmised:
As with any Plan, timeframes, measurable outcomes and the allocation of responsibilities is essential. The National Workforce Plan lacks these, which means it is not possible to see who will be implementing what, the key dates, and what outcomes the government is seeking. In this sense, it is like some previous disability workforce national plans and strategies, most famously the Integrated Market, Sector and Workforce Strategy (2016). However, there is no reason to repeat these deficiencies. The Productivity Commission cautioned in 2017 that these types of ‘strategic policies’ which omit detail of plan implementation are not up to the task of creating change and are in fact ‘creating uncertainty among providers.’
8.56
Carers NSW similarly believed that while the Workforce Plan 'successfully identified critical issues with the disability workforce, there is a limited focus on tangible outcomes that adequately address these concerns'.
8.57
Other submitters welcomed the plan, and, while noting the need for future refinement and detail, told the committee that they looked forward to working with the government and being involved in the design and implementation of initiatives within the plan.
Coordination with other sectors
8.58
As noted with respect to workforce regulation, coordination efforts across the care and support sector were generally welcomed by submitters.
8.59
Submitters also raised areas that may benefit from further coordinated work under the plan, including mental health strategies, broader national skills shortages, and training review processes.
Consultation
8.60
Some submitters and witnesses raised concerns about the consultation process for development of the Workforce Plan. Mrs Clare Hewat, Chief Executive Officer, AHPA, told the committee that AHPA's experience was that the consultation process had been an 'extraordinarily frustrating exercise' and that they did not feel they were listened to 'very much at all'. Mrs Hewat's concerns were echoed by Ms Catherine Maloney, Chief Executive Officer, Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH), who noted that 'it was always a difficult thing to feel as though you were being heard'.
8.61
Unions also reported concerns that consultation process did not adequately ensure that the experiences of workers were considered during development of the plan. United Workers Union reported that there was 'very little opportunity for consultation with the disability workforce and unions in the development of [the] plan'. Mr Lloyd Williams, National Secretary of the Health Services Union, further highlighted concerns that the consultation process was 'deficient', telling the committee:
When the plan's development was announced…we welcomed it and were eager to participate. However, I must say, we have struggled to achieve meaningful engagement. We believe that a meaningful and valuable workforce plan should have substantial involvement from workers and their representatives. Disappointingly, this was not the case. Our experience suggests that, at best, the DSS officials charged with developing the plan were under-resourced to do an effective job. At worst, it suggests that the Commonwealth government feels that it can ignore the voices of the NDIS workforce when making workforce policy.
8.62
SARRAH emphasised that further targeted consultation is needed in the implementation of the plan, calling for deeper engagement with 'stakeholders who are more closely connected with areas where major service gaps exist and are inherently committed to addressing those gaps'. SARRAH explained:
Consultation processes can be dominated by large, mainstream, often well-resourced organisations, representative bodies which, in fairness, represent or share concerns with the majority of other major service providers, contractors, workforce bodies, participants and groups. This approach may provide a reasonably accurate overview of issues and the sector, but is generally less effective in profiling the outliers, the concerns and experiences outside of the dominant systems, services and groups. However, the mainstream and dominant services tend not to be where the system design is ineffective, and gaps in service and external support are most prevalent.
Additional issues
8.63
Submitters raised a number of additional matters that could be addressed through workforce planning, including:
providing clarity around the roles and responsibilities of the Commonwealth for NDIS workforce development
exploring immigration solutions to alleviate workforce shortages
the role of volunteers in supporting the NDIS workforce and volunteering as a pathway to employment
specific skills and knowledge needed in the NDIS and NDIA Workforce.
Committee view
8.64
The NDIS National Workforce Plan 2021-2025 is an important document setting out the government's vision for growing both the NDIS and the broader care and support workforce. The committee is pleased that a number of the initiatives in the Workforce Plan have received widespread support from the sector.
8.65
However, it is disappointing that key approaches to workforce planning identified in the committee's interim report do not appear to have been adopted in this plan – in particular, clarification of Commonwealth responsibilities for NDIS market stewardship. While the committee notes commitments under the new Australia's Disability Strategy 2021-2031 to clarify roles and responsibilities for supporting people with a disability more broadly, the committee considers there is particular value in making clear the specific roles and responsibilities at the Commonwealth level for NDIS workforce development and responsibilities for the growth and oversight of the NDIS market.
8.66
The committee is persuaded by evidence from submitters who called for more detail and clarity of the intended outcomes of the Workforce Plan. The committee acknowledges advice from DSS that work continues to develop more detailed implementation plans for each of the plan's initiatives. However, without an understanding of the specific activities and expected outcomes of these initiatives, it is difficult for the committee to form a view as to whether the plan is likely to be effective in supporting the NDIS workforce to grow to meet the care and support requirements of NDIS participants now and into the future. It is further unclear how the government intends to evaluate the success of the plan without clear and transparent outcomes that have been set at the outset of its implementation.
8.67
The committee therefore considers that it is important for the Government to prioritise developing and publishing clear and measurable outcomes for each of the initiatives under the plan. These outcomes should be developed through conscientious and comprehensive consultation with NDIS participants and their advocates, the disability sector, allied health providers and peaks, and NDIS workers and their representatives.
8.68
The committee recommends that the Australian Government, in consultation with NDIS participants and their advocates, the disability and allied health sectors, and NDIS workers and their representatives, develop and publish clear and measurable outcomes for each of the initiatives in the NDIS National Workforce Plan 2021-2025.
8.69
The committee also wishes to reflect on the concerns of some sectors of the NDIS workforce regarding consultation by the Department of Social Services during the development of the Workforce Plan. The committee is concerned that some stakeholders, namely disability support and other NDIS workers and their representatives, along with allied health providers and practitioners, feel their perspectives were not adequately recognised in the development of the plan.
8.70
Noting the extensive work still to be undertaken through the implementation of the Workforce Plan over the coming years, the committee urges the Government to ensure that it undertakes a comprehensive and considered approach to consultation with all NDIS stakeholders in designing and implementing initiatives under the plan. The committee considers that these efforts will be assisted by the development and publication of a comprehensive consultation strategy for the life of the plan, to provide transparency and clarity for all interested groups.
8.71
The committee recommends that the Australian Government develop and publish a comprehensive consultation strategy for the implementation of measures under the NDIS National Workforce Plan 2021-2025.
Concluding comments
8.72
Ensuring a workforce of sufficient size, and with the appropriate skills, qualifications and expertise to deliver safe, quality support is critical to the sustainability of the NDIS. However, as noted in the committee's interim report, attracting and retaining this workforce is proving a substantial challenge. Critical among the issues identified in the interim report were concerns that:
pay rates may not reflect the complex, sensitive nature of disability support work;
workers often receive limited if any training from their employers, and there are limited opportunities for career advancement;
the sector is highly casualised, and work is often insecure; and
workers may not be adequately supervised and are often left to make complex decisions about care needs.
8.73
With this in mind, the committee outlined measures which, at a minimum, it considered should be included in a national workforce plan. These were measures to:
improve workforce conditions via stable employment; investment in training, supervision and professional development; and pay reflecting the complex, sensitive nature of disability support work;
enhance and—where appropriate—harmonise the skills, qualifications and expertise of the workforce;
support the employment of people with lived experience of disability; and
address thin markets for services—particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and for people living in regional, rural and remote areas.
8.74
In this final report, the committee has expressed its disappointment that two of these key elements received minimal attention in the plan: measures to improve workforce conditions and specific measures to support the employment of people with lived experience of disability.
8.75
The committee further notes that the Workforce Plan as presented in June 2021 is a high-level document that, in some cases, contains little detail about specific activities that will be undertaken in relation to initiatives. Further, while monitoring and evaluation of the plan is expected throughout its life, the plan itself does not set out measurable outcomes that might be used to assess whether the plan is effective in supporting sustainable growth in the NDIS workforce.
8.76
The committee therefore remains concerned that, without adequate attention from the Commonwealth Government in this plan, many of the issues experienced by the NDIS workforce identified throughout this inquiry will continue to persist. The committee encourages the government to accept all of the recommendations in this report as first step in the implementation of the Workforce Plan.
8.77
The committee will continue to monitor the implementation of the Workforce Plan and other matters related to the NDIS Workforce and may take up particular issues in inquiries in future Parliaments.
Hon Kevin Andrews MPSenator Carol Brown
ChairDeputy Chair