Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

Sit down, son, I'll let you speak when the time's up. The Productivity Commission also noted on page 327 of the report—and I know the member opposite hasn't read it, but I would encourage him to pull it out. I will read it for the member opposite, only because he won't actually read it himself and it is an inconvenient truth that the member doesn't like to look at. The Productivity Commission said, and I will quote it so there is no confusion:

In order to promote independent outcomes, assessors should be drawn from an approved pool of allied health professionals. Assessors should be independent of the person being assessed to reduce potential for sympathy bias. This means that health professionals, GPs and others with past treatment and support responsibilities for the person would not undertake assessments.

The Productivity Commission recommended independent assessments. The Tune review that followed recommended independent assessors. John Walsh, the father of the scheme—a very worthy appointment to the Productivity Commission, recommended by the Labor Prime Minister at the time—recommended independent assessments. But I guess it just doesn't stack up to what the member for Maribyrnong wants, which is just a political fight. I would encourage the member for Maribyrnong to put people with disability ahead of his own political ambitions and then we might get a better outcome.

If I could respond to the previous speaker from Victoria. Let me thank the member for Higgins for all her hard work and what she has done, for her questions and for her ongoing work in supporting the NDIS. The member for Higgins is a qualified professional in her field and knows how important the work is that this government is doing, as opposed to the hack, the member from Maribyrnong, for whom it's just all politics and no expert knowledge.

On 10 June in Perth, the minister for the NDIS launched the national workforce plan. Data from the plan estimate that the NDIS workforce comprise 270,000 workers in 2019-20 and forecast an additional 83,000 workers will be required to service over half a million participants by June 2024. The new NDIS workforce plan is a comprehensive blueprint for today and tomorrow. It's designed to attract workers with suitable skills, values and attributes while also improving existing workers' access to training and development. We need Australians to have a much greater appreciation of the rewards and opportunities that working in this beautiful sector provides, as well as an understanding of the personal satisfaction that is gained through care and support careers. It is a message we need to reinforce at every opportunity and by every means at our disposal. To achieve this, we need more attractive entry pathways and better conditions.

The NDIS workforce plan focuses on pragmatic actions the government can take in partnership with the sector to generate benefits for participants, workers, providers and the broader economy.

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