Final research on Queensland’s NDIS workforce released

Findings from a multi-year research project into Queensland’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) workforce were released on 25 May 2023.

The Strengthening Queensland’s NDIS Workforce 2022 report is the final in a series of three research reports examining the state of the NDIS workforce across Queensland.

Driven by industry and delivered by the Community Services Industry Alliance (CSIA) in partnership with Jobs Queensland, the research offers insights into the challenges, opportunities and changes impacting the NDIS workforce over the 2019-2022 period.

Jobs Queensland Board Chair, Donna Bonney noted the latest report showed that while there had been an increase of NDIS providers, demand for services was also on the rise with growth forecast to continue in coming years.

“The increase in NDIS service delivery over recent years has created significant demand for workers to deliver these services,” Ms Bonney said.

“This project has demonstrated the importance of collaborating with industry to develop initiatives and solutions to grow the NDIS workforce to meet needs of the sector now and into the future.”

“The report outlines key action areas to strengthen Queensland’s NDIS workforce. These are: workforce planning and development, training and skills, and contribution to policy development,” she said.

While significant progress has been made in growing the NDIS workforce in Queensland, workforce shortages are affecting a range of roles, from frontline aged and disability carers and allied health assistants’ roles to corporate functions, like rostering and human resource management.

CSIA Chief Executive Officer, Cheryl Schmidt said this research highlights the integral role that community services play in job growth and the wider economy.

“The community services sector has proven over the past few years, through the pandemic and other challenges, it is innovative, flexible and able to adapt to meet the needs of the community,” said Ms Schmidt.

“Our industry has one of the largest workforces, one that needs to continue to grow to meet the evolving needs of our communities.”

“CSIA is committed to working closely with our government and industry partners to find new solutions to meet workforce challenges now and into the future. Together we can grow and build a skilled and diverse workforce,” she said.

A series of innovative industry-led actions have already been implemented in response to the research.

These include the delivery of a suite of free Workforce Planning Connect tools and resources, tailored to the specific needs of the disability sector.

These resources were developed with industry to encourage and grow the availability of skilled workers while also building the capacity for workforce planning for NDIS service providers.

The Strengthening Queensland’s NDIS workforce 2022 report supports and identifies opportunities for industry and government to work together for a skilled NDIS workforce in the years ahead.

Find out what these actions are and what this means for the industry.

This article was featured in the June 2023 edition of our eNews. To read more and subscribe, click here.

Last updated 7 September 2023