NDIS Workforce Longitudinal Research Study: Year Three Report

Workers were asked two key questions to quantify their feelings about their work.

First, they were asked how they had been feeling about their work, on average, during the three months preceding the survey. Workers were less likely to report feeling positive about their work during the three months preceding the 2020 survey than they were in previous years of the survey (45% in 2020 compared to 49% in 2019 and 53% in 2018), likely as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions that were in place to respond to the second wave of infections in Victoria (primarily metropolitan Melbourne).

Workers were also asked how they felt about the future. In 2020, participants were feeling more positive about the future than in previous years. Positively, respondents in 2020 were significantly more likely to believe that their work will get better in the next 12 months (28%) compared to 2018 and 2019 results (20% each).

Worry about the future has subsided amongst workers across the life of the study. In previous years, job security was a major concern raised in both the qualitative and quantitative research findings. However, in 2020 only 37% agreed that the NDIS limited their job security (compared to 56% in 2018). This positive shift in perceptions regarding job security appeared to be mainly driven by a growing appreciation that the NDIS has meant an increased demand for disability staff across the workforce. Perceptions about what this growing demand means for workers appears to vary substantially by setting and by tenure within the industry; for example, participants in management or administrative roles often felt more secure, while direct support workers were significantly more likely to be worried about the future of their jobs.

Unlike previous years, 2020 saw an increase in positive perceptions about the NDIS and how this impacts clients, the workforce and disability services more broadly. The proportion of the workforce who are positive about parts of the NDIS and its ability to create new opportunities for workers and improve disability services in the long term has steadily increased over the life of the study.

Qualitative research findings show that workers were observing huge demand for their services given the rapidly growing workforce under the NDIS. Additionally, those who worked in more specialised settings such as support coordination and allied health were observing an increasing range of career opportunities.

The research also suggests that staff with a greater level of involvement with the NDIS and an increased ability to see professional opportunities within it will view the NDIS as a positive change. For instance, those who agreed that the NDIS has a large impact on their work were significantly more likely to believe that the NDIS creates new opportunities for them (47%).

While there were still some frustrations regarding the NDIS, an increasing proportion of participants believed that the NDIS is a positive change for the workforce, their clients, and the disability sector.

Workers who participated in the qualitative research cited examples of clients whose lives had been improved by the NDIS with greater frequency and enthusiasm than in previous years. Being able to witness the vision of the NDIS become reality increased worker satisfaction, as this was inherently tied to seeing the people they support achieve their goals.

Improvements in the turnaround times in planning approvals; more stability of staff in key roles such as support coordinators, Local Area Coordinators (LACs) and NDIS planners; better access to information, improved knowledge of the disability sector among NDIS Planners, shorter wait times on the NDIS helpline, and clearer and more helpful responses to questions, were mentioned as some of the main improvements that have positively impacted the workforce’s understanding and familiarity with the NDIS.

The workforce understanding of the scheme has improved in the last year, which may be due to an increased exposure to the NDIS compared to previous years.

The 2020 study saw workers beginning to grow more at ease with the NDIS system and processes, becoming more adept at operating within the scheme as it moved through the transition phase. Additionally, many observed that NDIS processes and the broader disability landscape had become more standardised across the sector, allowing the workforce to work more effectively under the NDIS.

Workers were significantly more likely to state that they had a thorough understanding of the NDIS when compared with 2018 (30% in 2020 vs 18% in 2018). Managers had the highest levels of self-reported understanding, suggesting an opportunity for greater knowledge transfer through organisations.

A majority of workers also felt they had access to the information they need about the NDIS (55% vs. 46% in 2018). Likewise, those in management or administrative roles were more likely to report this than those in direct support roles. This is consistent with the qualitative finding in previous years that direct support workers often felt that management were failing to disseminate their knowledge about the NDIS throughout their organisation, leading to a lack of knowledge on the front lines.

The study has found that some of the main concerns across all settings were feelings of exclusion and devaluation, a perceived reduction in training opportunities, barriers for career progression and limitations for professional development, among others.

Although the study also found the scheme impacts workers differently depending on their work settings. The 2020 iteration focused on four settings and explored the challenges and opportunities each of them face under the NDIS:

In 2020, the vast majority of longitudinal participants were still working in the disability sector and an increasing number see themselves working in the disability sector in the future.

In 2020, close to 74% of longitudinal participants were working in the same job as last year within the sector, while 18% had moved to a new job in the disability sector. A minority of surveyed workers had left the sector; they had either moved to a new job in another sector (2%) or left the workforce altogether (5%).

The proportion of those who were unsure about working in the disability sector in five years’ time has steadily decreased over time. In 2020, those who were unsure about working in the disability sector in five years’ time were significantly more likely to say that this was motivated by a reduction or change in work hours (20%), which was likely to be attributable at least in part to the COVID-19 pandemic where workers were limited to working at only one site.

Conversely, a growing proportion of workers reported that they will continue working in the disability sector in the future - this was particularly true amongst younger participants aged 18 to 44 years (60% vs 48% of those aged 45 years and over).

An increasing proportion of workers believed that they were paid fairly for the things they do in their job in 2020 compared with previous years (51% in 2020 compared to 41% in 2019 and 43% in 2018). Perceptions around fair pay differed across settings. For instance, those who identified as working in direct support roles (49%) were less likely to believe that they were paid fairly compared to those working in allied health and support coordination roles (74% and 67% respectively).

Mental health was overwhelmingly the first thing that came to mind when workers were asked about health, safety, and wellbeing. In the qualitative research, most workers reported experiencing health and safety risks as part of their job, of particular concern were mental health and stress. The pressures of workload (clients and administration), risky work conditions, often combined with unsupportive management systems and cultures of workplace bullying were immensely stressful. Feelings of being isolated and that their roles were increasingly devalued also contributed to worker’s psychological burden, particularly in direct support contexts. Stress was also commonly attributed to isolation, a high workload due to increasing administrative requirements coupled with limited time for this additional work.

Most workers felt that an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) was insufficient in meeting their mental health needs, and many wanted to see greater emotional support provided from within their organisation, delivered by people who understood the nature of their work.

Research findings suggest that experiences of occupational violence were common. Many workers felt that this wasn’t taken seriously enough in the industry. The qualitative research participants reported that there were not adequate processes in place to reduce the risk of violence (such as risk assessments or provision of security equipment for home visits); and when incident reports were lodged, follow up was lacking. This was often attributed to a culture that puts the safety of clients well ahead of the rights of staff.

Exclusion of the direct support workforce from information about clients (including their NDIS plans) often put workers at risk, particularly when working in a casual capacity with unfamiliar clients. In 2020 18% of survey participants indicated that they work in a casual capacity, which is a significant increase compared to 2018 findings (13%).

The theme of isolation has been identified in this research as a prevalent issue in the disability sector. This has been largely attributed to the introduction of the NDIS, which has meant an increase in casualised, one-on-one work, and a billable-hours structure which limited the ability for NDIS providers to hold team meetings and provide group training and networking.

These themes continued into 2020. Many workers reflected it is the ability to debrief with colleagues and team management who understand the nuances of issues faced was most beneficial for stress management and overall wellbeing. An increased sense of isolation under the NDIS was leaving workers feeling bereft of this opportunity and feeling more isolated than ever. Isolation also presented barriers to the exchange of ideas and experiences, such as behavioural de-escalation strategies, which were not as easily shared as in the past.

COVID-19 may have amplified existing feelings of isolation. While isolation was a common experience across the workforce, the manifestation of this differed for those remaining on-site, (such as residential support workers) compared to those who transitioned to working from home (often those in management positions, support coordinators or allied health professionals).

Many direct support workers who continued to work on-site or in clients’ homes felt abandoned by management in a potentially highly risky situation. It was often observed that there was a lack of recognition of the risks and challenges of work for those working face-to-face with clients.

This coupled with the challenges of managing client’s frustrations about living under lockdown conditions, and often taking on additional management responsibilities, escalated feelings of isolation.

There was a lack of awareness of the protections in place for workers. Research participants commonly cited OH&S representatives and their unions as their key avenues to raise safety concerns. Reporting was often felt to be a “tick box” exercise with no feedback or action ever received.

Signifying a lack of standardised information about health and safety across the sector, qualitative findings suggest that workers across the study had very little understanding of what health, safety or wellbeing protections are in place legislatively for those who work in the disability sector. None mentioned the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and there was also very low awareness of their rights. Generally, workers agreed that there was a lack of genuine focus on health and safety across the sector.

This was attributed to a culture that didn’t adequately prioritise safety, a lack of training, and lack of time to do adequate risk assessments before issues occur. Instead, workers described a highly reactive system. It was also commonly observed that even when proper processes were followed and incidents reported, there was rarely any response to the issue.

Workers articulated the need for an organisational culture that is committed to safety, is responsive, open to feedback, transparent about processes and prioritises the safety of staff alongside clients.

When asked to imagine a workplace in the disability sector that is truly committed to the health, safety, and wellbeing of staff, some of the most commonly raised characteristics of the workplace were:

• Staff feel comfortable reporting health, safety and wellbeing issues and ideas for process improvement without fear of blame or other negative repercussions
• Incidents and issues are taken seriously, and the organisation’s response visible
• Management recognise and acknowledge the challenges of disability work, listen to, and provide support and advice to staff
• Training on safety procedures is regularly provided for new and existing staff, including promotion of the NDIS quality and safeguards orientation training
• Correct equipment is provided, and infrastructure is safe and regularly tested