It’s been another busy month, with developments at both national and state levels, with NDIA prices, the NDIS Review, release of the NDS Workforce Census, and consultation on the impact of new regulation for Victorian providers.  

A key development has been the release of the Annual Price Review by NDIA. I have been hearing the concerns of many members about this, as well as about the increase in Worksafe premiums and difficulties with obtaining insurance. I encourage members to let us know how such issues are affecting your service. We have started a Provider Pulse Survey to get a clearer picture.   

We are also seeking member views to feed into our advocacy about the NDIS Review, with the recent release of papers addressing issues such as the pricing and payments approach of the Scheme.  

June has seen the release of the NDS annual Workforce Census Report, which shows that the worsening conditions of previous years have stabilised. But with an undersupply of workers and high turnover, the situation remains precarious. As NDS CEO Laurie Leigh observed, "Stability is not good enough in a sector that is growing as fast as ours. So many organisations tell us they see opportunities for growth, but they can’t take them. They know people who need services, but they can’t provide them because of workforce shortages.”   

In Victoria, recruitment delays due to the NDIS Checks are particularly frustrating for members, and we recently ran a session with Service Victoria to discuss the new call centre and share some tips on navigating the process. 

Another issue I hear about from members is regulatory burden. I was pleased to attend the recent NDIS Commission session on this topic, where issues of poor alignment and duplication between Victorian and national safeguarding requirements were discussed by providers. The Commission is now collating data from these sessions.  

A quick reminder that we still want your views on the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for the draft Social Services Regulations that complement the Social Services Regulation Act 2021. The Act introduced a new scheme for registration and reporting requirements for Victorian social service providers with a new set of social service standards and a single independent regulator. NDS has raised concerns about how the new framework will affect those who provide services through the Transport Accident Commission and Workcover, how the new registration requirements interact with NDIS registration, and whether this will lead to increased regulatory burden for providers. We encourage people to review the RIS at Engage Victoria and respond to the questionnaire before the closing date on 16 July. Please let us know of any issues this new framework may create for your organisation.  

We really value the contributions of members into our work, particularly from our State Committee. In early July nominations open for Committee membership, and we encourage every voting member who would like to bring their senior leadership disability expertise to support NDS on priorities and strategies for both Victoria and nationally to nominate. On a broad range of issues, the Committee supports me, as the State Manager, to engage with the state government and the disability services sector. We will be seeking to fill four vacancies on our committee this year. 

We continue to run a range of meetings and events tailored to the needs of our members – in fact, there are 15 different groups running in Victoria. A recent highlight was our very successful in-person session on Keeping Everyone Safe: Supporting the Successful Implementation of Positive Behaviour Support Plans. It was a sellout with the program including expert presenters and opportunities for group discussion.  

Upcoming meetings include those addressing workforce retention and occupational violence. Check them out!  I’m particularly looking forward to catching up with members in person at the NDS Disability at Work Conference 2023: Creating a Vision for Disability Employment, held in Canberra on 12 July. 

With so many offerings available from NDS, and so much going on at both state and national levels affecting disability services, this is a great time to renew your membership of NDS. 

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