The abilityNEWS Daily
The Big Story
(image courtesy HSU)
NDS Census finds a system ‘Entrenched in Crisis’
Australia’s disability workforce is buckling: entrenched turnover and casualisation, fuelled by an unsustainable pricing model, threaten the quality and continuity of NDIS supports.
The numbers are brutal. Staff turnover in the disability sector remains alarmingly high - 26 percent among casuals, 16 percent among permanent staff - and it costs providers an estimated $32–$50 million annually. And that’s just to replace those walking out the door.
A Workforce Census released by National Disability Services shows this isn’t just about normal staffing churn.
The report displays a system underpinned by a pricing model that starves providers of the resources they need to invest in people.
Organisations can’t offer fair pay, training, or wellbeing support because they’re boxed in by NDIS price caps. The result? A revolving door of broken workers and lost skills.
Permanent full-time roles have dropped sharply from 30 to 21 percent, undoing last year’s progress and pushing providers back into casualisation. Organisations are forced into survival strategies to manage cash flow: the result is instability.
NDS CEO Michael Perusco is blunt: “The current pricing model undermines the sustainability of the workforce, limits providers’ ability to meet NDIS objectives, and ultimately impacts the lives of Australians with disability.”
On the ground, the strain shows. At Gateways Support Services, turnover is “anticipated” as part of the business. Chief People Officer Georgia Jackson says program leaders plug staffing gaps themselves and become “burned out” in the process. The organisation invests heavily in onboarding, but each departure adds to cost and pressure.
Career change and workload are now leading reasons for exit, signalling many leave the sector for good. The Census makes clear workforce churn won’t just continue; it will intensify.
The Briefing
In Every Community: Anglicare Australia Report Warns Regional Services Under Strain
by Anglicare
Anglicare Australia's latest report warns that regional and remote communities face stretched services due to funding and staffing problems. It urges government to move beyond population-based funding and support long-term local solutions already working on the ground.
Disability Discrimination Act Review: Digital Accessibility Also Matters.
by Centre For Accessibility Australia
The Australian Government is reviewing the Disability Discrimination law for the first time in over 15 years. Centre for Accessibility Australia urges stronger digital inclusion to ensure fair treatment for people with disability.
Celebrating Community Impact and Lived Experience
by National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum
Community leaders gathered in Garramilla (Darwin) for the Gayaa Dhuwi National Conference, marking key milestones in Aboriginal-led mental health. Hosted in one of the most culturally rich parts of Australia, the conference brought people together to focus on mental health and suicide prevention, grounded in culture and Country. "Progress is strongest when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples set the agenda and lead the solutions."
Centre for Accessibility Australia Launches “Accessibility Life Hacks” Video Series.
by Centre For Accessibility Australia
The Centre for Accessibility Australia has launched a monthly video series sharing practical digital tips for people with disability. The initiative is part of a wider project promoting inclusive technology, supported by the Department of Communities WA.
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The Wrap
Advocates and parents call for more detail on Thriving Kids program amid changes to NDIS
by ABC
Parents and advocates call for reassurance their kids won’t be left behind under a new Thriving Kids program announced by NDIS Minister Mark Butler. The changes mean some children may be diverted away from the NDIS in a bid to rein in costs.
Tourette syndrome advocates take their voices to parliament
by ABC (SA)
More than 20 TSAA members travelled to South Australia's Parliament House last Thursday to discuss what actionable change could look like. Mr Maysey said SA was the first government to meet with the association since the Impact for Tourette's report was handed down in June. "[They are the first to] meet us where we stand and listen to what we're saying rather than just brushing us off," Mr Maysey said.
NDIS blowout ‘partly my fault’: Labor powerbroker John Della Bosca's mea culpa
by The Australian
The Labor powerbroker who front ran the campaign for the National Disability Insurance Scheme says he has to take “some of the blame” for the $46bn program becoming seen as a “cure all for every disability problem”, while raising the spectre of Medicare being used to cover programs for autistic kids no longer on the NDIS.
NDIA accused of ‘repeated non-compliance’ as it prepares for autism reforms
by Saturday Paper
Exclusive: Rick Morton. While advocates say they have been ambushed by Labor’s plans to eject autistic children from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the agency has been accused of ignoring multiple legal orders.
‘Deeply concerned’: Special ed teacher slams federal school disability scheme handing out $5bn a year without safeguards
by Daily Telegraph
A special education teacher has hit out at the lack of regulation around a $5bn-a-year disability funding scheme for schools. Read this powerful letter to the education minister.
People are using autism to rort the NDIS, but it’s not the people with autism
by Crickey!
As a support worker (an autistic one to boot), I’ve had a ground’s-eye view of an industry with little to no oversight — one where government policy has had the marrow sucked out of it by a vicious circle of shoddy private companies.
Minister Butler’s NDIS language missed the mark but let’s not miss the bigger picture
by Women's Agenda
As a parent who’s walked this path, I found myself nodding along. For years, families have had nowhere to go but the NDIS– fighting for funding, navigating systems so complex they only added to their overwhelm. Minister Butler conceded this. The “Thriving Kids” framework, at least in principle, recognises the gap and tries to fill it. Is it perfect? Unlikely. Is it the whole solution? Not yet. But it’s a starting point.
The Diary
