Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member and the House. I'm pleased to present the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme's final report for its inquiry into the NDIS workforce. Critical to the sustainability of the NDIS, one of Australia's most ambitious public policy initiatives, is a workforce of a sufficient size and which has the appropriate skills, qualifications and expertise to deliver safe, quality supports to participants. It is estimated that the NDIS workforce will need to grow by an additional 83,000 full-time-equivalent staff to support participants at the scheme's projected peak. However, attracting and retaining suitably skilled, qualified workforce continues to prove a significant challenge, with systemic issues persisting and the sector increasingly seen as overworked, underpaid, undervalued and poorly trained.

In December 2020, the committee tabled an interim report for this inquiry. Aware that the Australian government was at the time developing a national workforce plan for the NDIS, the interim report examined the range of issues facing the NDIS workforce, made 14 recommendations on how such matters should be addressed, and outlined what the content, scope, and focus of the forthcoming NDIS workforce plan should be.

The committee welcomed the release of the NDIS National Workforce Plan: 2021-25 in June 2021, along with other measures identified by the Australian government in response to the committee's interim report. However, evidence since provided to this inquiry has demonstrated that ambitious action is needed to adequately address issues within the NDIS workforce and to safeguard the availability of safe and quality supports for NDIS participants into the future.

This unanimous final report for this inquiry makes eight recommendations relating to the need for increased workforce data collection, enhanced employment opportunities for people with disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, increased student placement opportunities and appropriately resourced training and upskilling initiatives. Recommendations further call for the development of clear and measurable outcomes for each of the initiatives under the government's NDIS National Workforce Plan as well as a comprehensive consultation strategy for its implementation.

The committee acknowledges actions that have been taken by the NDIA and by the Australian government so far to address some of the workforce issues facing the NDIS and the disability sector more broadly. The committee will continue to monitor the implementation of the NDIS National Workforce Plan: 2021-25 and other matters related to the NDIS workforce and may take up particular issues in future inquiries.

The committee thanks all those who contributed to the inquiry by lodging submissions, providing additional information or expressing their views via correspondence. The committee would also like to thank those who gave their time to attend the committee's public hearings. In particular, the committee acknowledges people with disability, their families and carers who shared their experiences. The testimony of people with lived experience is crucial to identifying issues with the NDIS and improving the operation of the scheme.

May I thank all my colleagues on the NDIS committee for their work not just on this inquiry but on many inquiries during this term of parliament. I would particularly like to extend our thanks on behalf of the committee to the secretariat, headed by Bonnie Allan, for their sterling work on this inquiry and other inquiries, including ongoing inquiries before the committee. I commend the report to the House.

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