The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will be rolled out later than its mid-2020 deadline and migrant workers will likely be needed to build the workforce, according to the lengthy 533-page Productivity Commission report.
The Commission says the disability sector workforce was growing “way too slow” and “will not be sufficient to meet demand”, with up to 90,000 full-time positions expected to be created.
Will this mean aged care workers will transfer to the NDIS for higher wages?
The report is warning state governments not to withdraw their current services too early after it found that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) also failed to ensure the quality of NDIS plans as it rushed to meet its enrolment targets. The NDIS will eventually cover up to 475,000 Australians.
“A key concern that has emerged from our extensive consultations is the speed of participant intake,” Commissioner Angela MacRae said.
The report also highlighted the agency’s reliance on over-the-phone planning sessions around funding and services, which have received hundreds of complaints.
The NDIA has since announced it will phase out these telephone meetings and replace them with face-to-face meetings – but no word on when they will be abolished or how this new process will be funded.
Read the full report here.
