Investment to boost businesses and jobs in disability sector

An increase in funding from $8 billion to $22 billion by 2019-20 will help grow the range and scale of the disability support sector to meet the demand of hundreds of thousands Australians who will benefit from the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) Market Approach statement released today seeks to enable and support this growth by outlining how the Agency will work with industry and the wider community as NDIS stakeholders to facilitate major growth in the size, number and range of disability support providers and the services they offer.

The NDIA recognises that in order for businesses of all sizes and types to confidently and sustainably grow and innovate under the NDIS there needs to be as much clarity about the market development as possible, including what they can expect from the NDIA in this regard.

The Market Approach demonstrates how the Agency will take a leading stewardship role in transitioning the sector to the NDIS and delivering a big increase in available services.

“The Agency will take a lead role in helping the market for disability supports adapt and flourish to a vibrant, innovate and competitive sector with first class supply to meet the growth in demand.” NDIA chief executive David Bowen said.

“Today’s release of the Market Approach statement demonstrates to the established sector and the wider Australian economy that we are here to help and will work with them to deliver the best disability support scheme in the world,” Mr Bowen said.

“We are moving from a welfare-based system that was inequitable and unsustainable to an insurance-based model that will help more people and provide real choice and control,” Mr Bowen said.

The Market Approach statement is consistent with the NDIS Integrated Market, Sector and Workforce Strategy and outlines how the NDIA plans to prioritise and implement its market stewardship role. Importantly, this will be done in partnership with States and Territories who all have critical roles to play in supporting and promoting the establishment of vibrant and responsive NDIS marketplaces.

The approach is complimentary to the $5 million Innovative Workforce Fund announced by the Federal Government in October to help grow the disability workforce and sector.

From July 2016 Australia began the careful three-year transition to the full rollout of the NDIS that will see the number of people supported grow from 30,000 to an expected 460,000.

More than 3500 providers have already registered with the NDIS.