The Morrison Government has appointed the first group of specialist coordinators to boost the disability and aged care work forces ahead of the full roll-out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2020.
The new coordinators, working across key geographical regions, will help meet growing workforce pressures by building sector capability and linking job seekers to sector employers, Social Services Minister, Paul Fletcher said.
“These locally-based coordinators understand the challenges and experiences of providers and participants on the ground, in the NDIS and in the disability and aged care sectors more broadly,” he said. “The disability care workforce needs to grow by 90,000 full-time equivalent workers within the next five years.”
The coordinators will work with providers to improve their workforce planning, modelling and development capability, including recruitment models.
The first group of 12 of the ultimately 35 coordinators will be based in Hobart, Launceston, Perth, Darwin, Adelaide, Mt Gambier, Bunbury, Sydney and the Blue Mountains/Central-West NSW regions. The government has committed $33 million to the Boosting the Local Care Workforce program.