What’s it like to work in the regions in the NDIS?

And so many of you responded: we heard from over 500 members in the disability sector about how it delivers to deliver and receive support in the regions.

We had the opportunity to share these stories with members of parliament its Joint Standing Committee, which deals with NDIS policy. You told us three key things:

1. Participants shouldn’t face barriers to accessing supports just because they do not live in a major city.  

2. Similarly, workers shouldn’t receive less support, funding or resources to deliver the same supports in these areas.

3. Ensuring participants retain choice and access to reliable, person-centred, reasonably priced supports requires a market that can attract and retain high-quality support workers, no matter where they live.  

There’s several steps to achieving an equitable NDIS for participants and workers in regional Australia:

1. Funding needs to be more reliable, support bargaining above the award, factor in the barriers that specific barriers regional and remote participants face.

2. Staffing levels, training and supervision need to be improved and enforced through effective regulation of providers and workers.

3. Training, health services beyond the NDIS, relocation and retention allowances will ensure regional participants have equal access to highly-qualified workers.

Read our submission to parliament here.

‍