The methodology and questions used in this research were designed in collaboration with experts from the sector: disability workers, service providers, the Health and Community Services Union, peak bodies and government. Together, it was agreed that a survey was needed to measure the impact of the NDIS on the workforce over time, followed by qualitative research to understand the experiences of workers in greater depth.
Workers were invited to participate in the research through disability networks, by direct contact with disability providers, and through an advertisement on the Victorian Government website. Workers registered for the survey and then completed it online via an email invitation.
The survey involved a range of closed and open-ended questions and gave workers the option to register their interest to participate in future qualitative research. The focus groups and in-depth interviews were more open-ended in nature, allowing workers to describe their experience in their own words.
Throughout this report, findings from the survey are presented as statistics, and findings from focus groups and in-depth interviews are presented as summaries of workers’ words, and in direct quotes from workers.
In 2019, 722 workers participated in the survey, 328 of whom had participated in 2018 and therefore were treated as longitudinal participants. The remaining 394 survey respondents had only participated in 2019 and were deemed new participants. Results were consistent across these cohorts and there were limited differences in feedback.
In total, 87 workers also participated in the qualitative research in either one of six focus group (32) or an individual in-depth interview (55) held across the state between May and July 2019.
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