Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Our government stands behind the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and we stand behind those who need help and support to live with a disability. We are committed to ensuring that there is a strong, skilled and sustainable workforce, having launched the NDIS National Workforce Plan in June this year. A total of 530,000 participants will be supported by the NDIS when it reaches full maturity in the next few years, and the current workforce of 270,000, including in-home and in-community support workers, allied health professionals, managers and other professionals, will require an additional 83,000 workers to join them by the end of June 2024. That's a lot.

This growing sector and workforce will also support veterans and aged care. Disability support, aged-care and veterans' care programs are highly connected, if you consider that 30 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 areas. So it makes sense that the workforce plan applies across these three sectors. Given our skill shortage at present, our clear plan is to attract workers with suitable skills, values and attributes and to improve existing workers' access to training and development opportunities. There are many opportunities for employment within the NDIS workforce, including personalised supports of varying complexity and intensity, social and community participation support, transportation and cleaning.

Of course, the attributes of personal carers in the way they approach their responsibility of care is very important to those who receive that care, and recipients in Moncrieff tell me that it's more important to them than a qualification. Consequently, embedded in training will be the standard for attitudes, behaviours, skills and knowledge, as established by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's Workforce Capability Framework. Through updates to nationally recognised training programs, the plan will support skills needs and career pathways in the NDIS as well as the broader care and support sector. This will include the development of microcredentials to allow workers to quickly upskill, while also providing pathways towards recognised qualifications, where appropriate for their role. 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 will protect participants receiving care and minimise harm to the most vulnerable.

The aged-care legislation has indeed been changed, to recognise NDIS worker screening clearances. This makes it easier for aged-care providers and workers—staff and volunteers—who support NDIS participants and other in-care situations. I spoke to that legislation in the House just recently, and we heard about tighter controls on screening for carers that will benefit those who are vulnerable to abuse.

In terms of attracting workers, we're creating sources of information and tools for people to understand the benefits and opportunities of working in the care and support sector. We're developing a simple and accessible online tool for jobseekers to self-assess suitability for new roles in the sector. We're working on a range of approaches, including a website and a campaign where people can find out more about the care and support sector and what is involved. We will improve the effectiveness of job boards to match jobseekers to vacancies in the sector. We're also working with other agencies to ensure that the care and support sector is included as a priority in current workforce and training initiatives. In addition to the NDIS workforce plan, measures that are already in place are the Economic Recovery Plan for Australia, the JobMaker plan and the JobTrainer fund that will assist in building workforce for the sector. Further to those measures is the 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 to promote regulatory alignment across the aged-care, disability and veterans care sector.

A Life Changing Life is the campaign that I mentioned. It's an NDIS worker campaign. It's about healthcare workers who are changing the lives of Australians who need that extra care. This plan complements the other Australian government reforms that I've outlined to build a simpler, fairer, faster and more flexible NDIS. Most importantly, NDIS participants will have access to higher-quality supports, improved service continuity and a workforce that reflects the diversity of the NDIS participants.

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