The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), along with an ageing population, continues to fuel growth in the healthcare industry with over 250,000 new healthcare jobs set to be created over the next five years.

90,000 new full-time equivalent jobs will be required directly to meet increased demand from NDIS participants, and its estimated that the NDIS will be responsible for creating 1 in 5 new jobs in future years.

What is the NDIS?

Since launching in 2013, the NDIS has changed the way disability services are delivered in Australia. After a gradual rollout, the NDIS is now available to all eligible Australians and aims to provide participants with the support they need to live an ordinary life.

The scheme empowers individuals and provides more flexibility for participants to choose the support services they need, and importantly the freedom to choose which provider they wish to engage with on the free market.

More than 4 million Australians (about 18% of the country’s population) live with disability. Of those people, almost half also have restrictions when it comes to schooling or employment, and a third need help with health care.

NDIS Demand Outstripping Supply

In a number of healthcare categories, especially in regional and remote areas, the NDIS is underspending as there are not enough NDIS providers to meet the demand from NDIS participants. This is especially true in allied health fields in regional and remote areas.

Job Opportunities & Key Growth Areas

Whilst the biggest number of new job roles will be for disability support workers, there are significant growth opportunities forecast for many allied, occupational and complementary health professionals.

The table below shows some of the key growth areas with job creation projections for the next 5 years.

Data taken from Australian Government 2019 Employment Projections – for the five years to May 2024.

In addition to these ‘hands on’ roles there will be many new management level and client support roles created in coming years, as well as roles in research and policy development.

Demand for Upskilled Graduates

Increasingly employers will seek out graduates who have shown in interest and/or have experience in the disability sector. In response to the increased demand many universities are now offering bachelor degrees, elective units and short-courses designed to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills to support people with a disability, and/or to move in to management roles within the sector.

Working with NDIS Participants

If a role involves working with NDIS participants employees need to complete the online NDIS worker orientation training program, as well as the required background screening checks.

Independent Assessments to be Completed by Allied Health Professionals

The NDIS recently introduced a new independent assessment process. According to the NDIS website  ““Independent assessments create a complete picture of how you manage tasks and activities in your everyday life. How you do things like school or work, or take part in your community.”

According to AHPA (Allied Health Professionals Australia) six allied professionals will be able to perform the role of independent assessors. These are:

• occupational therapists
• physiotherapists
• speech pathologists
• clinical and registered psychologists
• rehabilitation counsellors
• social workers

This change will create a significant number of new job and self-employment opportunities for allied health professionals to complete independent assessments for NDIS participants.

Self-Employment Opportunities

Because the NDIS empowers the individual to choose providers who they want to work with the disability support sector is now more decentralised and market-driven. Participants increasingly are choosing to receive support directly in their homes, workplaces or community spaces rather than hospitals or centralised care facilities. Many participants also prefer to work with smaller providers who can personalise their services to meet their individual needs.

This, coupled with unprecedented demand for services, has created an opportunity for allied health professionals to venture out on their own and move into self-employment.

Navigating the NDIS as a provider can be complex and there is an audit process which needs to be completed, however there are many organisations who provide support through the application process and governing bodies, such as AHPA, provide guidance to their members.

Summary

The NDIS has had a major impact on the way disability support services are delivered, and will continue to create new and exciting job opportunities for medical, allied, occupational and complementary health undergraduates and postgraduates over the coming years.