Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises the Government's commitment to ensuring there is a strong, skilled and sustainable National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) workforce by launching the NDIS National Workforce Plan;

(2) acknowledges that the disability workforce will require an additional 83,000 workers over the next few years to strengthen the responsiveness, quality and capability of the NDIS workforce and complements other Government reforms to build a simpler, fairer, faster and more flexible NDIS; and

(3) recognises the Government's 2021-22 budget investment of $12.3 million in the Care and Support Workforce Package over the next two years to cut red tape and promote regulatory alignment across the aged care, disability and veterans' care sectors.

I'm pleased to move this motion and speak to the importance of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the NDIS, and our government's ongoing commitments to the scheme. The NDIS is a world-first, history-making scheme. Recent data has shown that the program is growing at a record rate. The NDIS is now supporting over 466,000 Australians, which is an outstanding achievement. Almost a quarter of a million people are receiving support for the very first time, and one in three of those are children aged zero to six years. There's been a 14 per cent increase in the number of young adults reporting that the NDIS has helped them with their daily living activities and a 12 per cent increase in the number of participants reporting that the NDIS has helped improve their health and wellbeing. So far, the NDIS has been life-changing. These statistics reflect why it is so important that our government continues to ensure that the scheme is viable into the future. The Australian government is committed to delivering on the NDIS, and that includes ensuring that there is a strong and sustainable workforce to support it.

That's why I'm happy to recognise the launch of the NDIS National Workforce Plan. The plan is designed to attract workers with suitable skills, values and attributes while also improving existing workers' access to training and development opportunities. We know that 530,000 participants will be supported by the NDIS when the scheme reaches full maturity in the next few years. To meet this demand, an additional 83,000 workers will be needed to support these participants, to bring our total workforce to 353,000 people. This includes in-home and in-community support workers, allied health professionals and also managers and other professionals. Meeting this demand will be a significant challenge, especially in regional areas. Workforce remains a key challenge across several sectors in my electorate of Mallee, including health, agriculture, and manufacturing. Unfortunately, this story is much the same for the care and support sector in Mallee. That's why we need a solid plan in place to meet the needs of NDIS participants now and in the future.

Our plan will enable workforce growth in the NDIS and support complementary workforce measures in aged care and support services for veterans. This is an important measure, because we know that disability support, aged-care and veterans care programs are highly connected. Thirty per cent of aged-care providers also operate in the NDIS or veterans care programs, and 36 per cent of veterans care providers operate across all three sectors.

The plan will also support the sector to attract a wide range of workers, while improving existing workers' access to training and development opportunities. We are improving access to entry-level pathways and providing greater opportunities for training and development. Students, school leavers and jobseekers will have improved access to entry-level career pathways, including supported traineeships and placements. Currently, Boosting the Local Care Workforce coordinators are working with schools and employment services to connect prospective workers with educational institutions and professional bodies within the sector. Commonwealth, state and territory governments will work in partnership with workers, NDIS participants, industry, and education and employment providers to retain and grow the required skilled workforce.

The plan ensures that care and support workers will receive the best training available in order to satisfy the complex needs of a large and diverse group of participants. It will do this through updates to nationally recognised training programs and the development of microcredentials to allow workers to quickly upskill, while also providing pathways to recognised qualifications. Embedded in this training will be the standards for attitudes, behaviour, skills and knowledge as established by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's NDIS Workforce Capability Framework. The development of a skills passport will also strengthen the recognition of training in the sector by recording and verifying qualifications, screening checks and references for individual workers.

This plan complements other Australian government reforms to build a simpler, fairer, faster and more flexible NDIS. Last week our government passed legislation to better protect NDIS participants from the risk of harm. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Improving Support for At Risk Participants) Bill 2021 implements key recommendations following an independent review into the adequacy of the regulation of the supports provided to 54-year-old Adelaide woman Ann-Marie Smith, who, sadly, died last year. The bill provides for a more streamlined information-sharing process between the National Disability Insurance Agency and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and recognises the need for a balance between the necessity of an efficient information-sharing mechanism and the importance of privacy protection.

Our government is listening to participants, families, service providers and the community at large in relation to future reforms aimed at improving the NDIS participant's experience. We are building a new participant service guarantee through amendments to the NDIS Act. These changes build on recommendations from the 2019 Tune review into the NDIS Act. The Tune review was underpinned by an extensive consultation process in 2019, and there has been broad support for implementing these measures. We have completed further public consultation on our draft legislation for the participant service guarantee and other measures bill. The participant service guarantee sets out clear time frames for NDIS processes, giving participants, families and carers greater certainty about how long NDIS processes will take. The guarantee will set new standards for the time it takes for key steps in the NDIS process and applies service standards to the National Disability Insurance Agency.

These positive changes will support over 210 NDIS service providers in my electorate of Mallee, including Sunraysia Residential Services. SRS has been in operation for 43 years and provides residential and wraparound support to people who live with a disability. SRS focuses on person centred support and is embedded with creative ideas that assist people with disabilities to reach their desired goals. They also have a commercial enterprise, Benetook Farm, which produces eggs to sell to local businesses around the district. At the end of the last year I had the pleasure of attending the grand opening of their new general store at the farm. The farm and general store have provided a place for SRS participants to learn new skills and socialise with friends, as well as a place to connect with the wider community and those who need support.

We are also investing in our regional capacity through the Building Better Regions Fund. Last month, I was pleased to announce $4.9 million for Mallee Family Care for the construction of new office space and community space. This investment will help MFC to improve and expand their vital services in the region. They offer families financial and legal services and they are also an NDIS provider. They service a very large catchment, from Birchip to Swan Hill and Mildura and over the border to Dareton and Wentworth. Our government's investment is going to make a difference to the lives of thousands of people. I was very proud to announce this funding with the CEO of Mallee Family Care, Teresa Jayet.

I know that NDIS participants and providers are eager to see that the scheme is improved. We are taking action for the benefit of regional Australians. I understand that the NDIS has been transformative for many people living with a disability in my electorate, and I am thankful that I am able to support measures that will ensure the sustainability of the program for years to come.

See this speech in context