Key Point
- Disability support workers are leaving the field to care for the elderly.
- Proponents report a 15% wage increase for aged care workers as a major driver.
- New disability workforce data show insufficient capacity to meet future growth demands.
The disability sector is struggling to find enough workers to meet demand, and major industry groups are calling for changes to boost the workforce.
Annual data on the workforce with disabilities are collected by the National Disability Services (NDS), a peak group representing non-governmental agencies.
The latest report shows that the sector’s current position is “precarious due to continued supply shortages and high turnover”.
This trend indicates that the sector will not be able to meet the expected increase in demand over the coming months and years.
NDS CEO Laurie said, “The workforce situation has calmed down a bit over the past year, but given the growth in demand for NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) services, we’re seeing the number of employees we want and expect. has not increased,” he said. Lee said.
“Providers are in a very difficult position, with participants and people with disabilities seeking services but finding it difficult to find a sufficient workforce to provide the services they need.”
He said the 15% wage hike for elderly care workers announced three months ago by the Fair Labor Commission is also encouraging workers to leave the disabled sector to care for the elderly.
“No one is saying we shouldn’t raise salaries for elderly care workers. It makes perfect sense,” she said.
“But when things change in one part of the care and support economy and it’s not aligned or taken into account with the impact it has on other parts of the care and support economy, such as disability, it certainly has an impact. .
“If you’re already struggling to recruit, things get even more difficult.”
“Critical Need”
2,084 vacancies have been added due to increased demand for disability services from July to December 2022.
The average weekly working hours of disability support workers also increased to 22.6 hours.
Since 2020, the number of non-regular workers has increased, accounting for 39 per cent of the sector’s workforce.
Reforms are needed to ensure that disability workers feel motivated to stay in the field, Lee said.
“Workers across the caring economy workforce perform some of the most important jobs in our society and are underpaid for what they do,” Lee said. . “If you’re really trying to get workers into this industry, you also have to think about their working conditions and their wages.”
Demand for disability support workers is growing, with 2,084 people joining the industry as temporary workers in the six months to December 2022. sauce: SBS News
He said funding for employee training and supervision should be separate from participants’ NDIS plans.
She also called for greater employment of people with disabilities as workers and more Australians with disabilities on the board of disability service providers.
“There will be a lot of people you can approach for employment,” she says.
“The report finds that there has not yet been a significant change in the employment of persons with disabilities, especially in areas such as representatives of committees of service providers for persons with disabilities. It’s an area I’d love to look at, and to pick up some of the opportunities there.”
Turnover in the disability sector remains high. sauce: SBS News
Impact on cost of living
Recruitment firm Orchard Talent Group says there has been a 42% increase in disability support workers seeking new roles in aged care in the 90 days since the Fair Labor Commission announced wage increases for aged care workers. Announced.
The agency’s managing director, Alex McDonald, said it was an unprecedented surge in the seven years the company has been tracking data.
“A common theme we’ve observed is the transition from temporary to permanent employment,” McDonald said. “And it’s mostly related to economic factors. Changes in the cost of living mean that individuals want higher shift allocations.”
He said the overall demand for workers in both the disability sector and the aged care industry is high, and that solutions need to receive a lot of attention from policy makers.
“There is a huge amount of demand in both areas, and policy changes like the ones we’ve seen have had a dramatic impact on the dynamics between these two different pools of candidates,” he said. said.
“As the number of beneficiaries in the disability sector will double over the next ten years, the workforce will need to double as well.
“Over the same period, the aged care workforce is expected to grow by 70%. So we must increase the overall care economy by almost 200%. It’s all about: We help organizations prepare for it.”
The federal government has confirmed that it will allocate $11.3 billion to the federal budget for May to fund wage increases for aged care workers. The salary increase will take effect from 30 June 2023.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-the-disability-support-sector-is-in-a-precarious-position/azrxzne1g Why the disability sector is in a ‘precarious’ position
