The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Workforce Strategy will be critical to the Federal Government’s agenda to work with the disability sector to optimise workforce and service provision beyond the trial sites and into full launch.

The rollout of the NDIS will create significant employment demand and opportunities in the disability sector, with the Federal Government saying it is committed to working with the sector to prepare for this change.

“The Abbott Government recognises that a strong, responsive and NDIS-ready workforce is key to making a better deal for people with disability a reality,” it says.

The size of the disability workforce will more than double by 2019–20, and the workforce will need the capacity to respond to the NDIS funding model, which places the consumer at the centre and in control of their funding package.

National Disability Services (NDS), which has been contracted to deliver the report, met with the Federal Assistant Minister for Social Services Mitch Fifield and identified three priority areas:

• Supporting and retaining the existing workforce
• Ensuring workforce supply to support people with disability into the future
• Building the capacity of the workforce to adapt to the new funding model of person-centred choice under the NDIS.

The report will address workforce needs in the current trial sites, as well as any issues that will develop when full national rollout occurs.

The final report will be delivered to the Federal Government in August 2014.