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This report provides analysis of workers' experiences of delivering disability services and supports in the early stages of the outbreak of [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 in Australia. Data is drawn from a survey of 2341 disability workers, conducted in March 2020. The survey was designed primarily to help understand the experiences of disability workers, and the challenges they confront in the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It was planned and designed prior to the outbreak of the virus in Australia. However, the data collection period coincided with the period that social distancing measures were introduced and increased in Australia. As such, many workers provided comments in the survey that highlighted the significant issues and challenges they faced in the context of COVID-19. These included access to PPE, workplace safety protocols, barriers to social distancing and self-isolation, and the need for further industrial responses and workforce supports to sustain quality service delivery through the pandemic and recovery phase.

Key findings are: (1) there is an urgent lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) being supplied to staff and clients, and many workers feel their organisation's safety protocols have been inadequate in the context of COVID-19; (2) there are widespread perceptions that the disability workforce is being dangerously overlooked in pandemic response, and many workers are worried about the ongoing impacts of lack of planning in their organisation and for the disability sector as a whole; (3) workers have been particularly worried about day programs and community access activities remaining in operation; group homes remaining open to other workers delivering NDIS services and supports to residents, along with visitors; and disruption to clients' routines and activities, which has created additional risks to client wellbeing and safety; (4) staff are extremely anxious about the situation, and workforce issues and additional workloads have made it difficult to respond to heightened health and safety needs; and (5) some workers have lost jobs or shifts and are uncertain about the future of their work, and many expressed concerns about their inability to effectively self-isolate, and the financial impacts of doing so.

Published abstract and key findings. Show less

This report provides information about workers in services used by people affected by domestic and family violence and sexual assault. Analysis of surveys of workers and service leaders along with stakeholder interviews provides detailed insight into models of provision, workforce strengths and gaps, workers' skills and skill development needs, and perceptions of service capacity and sustainability challenges. Overall, the information can be used to inform efforts to build capacity of the workforce and service system to improve responses to people affected by violence, to help achieve the objectives of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children (2010-2022).

Key findings include: the workforce is strongly female dominated - more than 4 in 5 workers identified as female; services located in major cities tend to employ higher proportions of workers from [culturally and linguistically diverse] CALD backgrounds, while those in remote areas employed higher proportions of employees from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds; workers generally reported feeling confident identifying signs of abuse, however, fewer said they were confident identifying financial or sexual abuse, compared with physical or emotional abuse; many workers felt they needed additional training to support specific client groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning] LGBTIQ people affected by violence, asylum seekers, people with experience of homelessness, and perpetrators of violence; more than 90 per cent of workers reported having a post-school qualification (36.3 per cent had a bachelor level qualification and a further 30.5 per cent had a postgraduate degree), however, while the sector is highly qualified, not all workers felt their formal qualifications had provided good preparation for working with people affected by domestic and family violence or sexual assault; workers with the highest levels of contact with people affected by domestic and family violence and sexual assault were more likely to have participated in relevant training in the last 12 months; workers in frequent contact with victims of sexual assault were more likely than others to receive relevant training, and to have received larger amounts of training; among workers in leadership positions ([Chief Executive Officers] CEOs, senior managers, team leaders), three quarters of men had undertaken management or leadership training, but only two thirds of women had done so; and less than 2 in 3 felt they received appropriate induction when they commenced in the service.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

This report provides information about the workforce delivering disability services and supports in the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in early 2020. The information comes from a national survey of disability workers which was co-designed by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) research team and the unions representing disability workers, the Health Services Union, Australian Services Union and United Workers Union.

The survey was designed to capture information from disability workers about the nature of the work they do and how it is changing; their experiences of working to support people with disability; and their perceptions of the NDIS. The results provide comprehensive, contemporary evidence that values workers' views and experiences, and which can inform approaches to disability service provision in Australia, and the operation and regulation of the NDIS.

Key findings include: (1) Many workers expressed concern about the NDIS with only just over a quarter believing it provided quality support for participants. Only one in five workers agreed the NDIS had been a positive experience for them as a worker; (2) Working time arrangements contributed to much concern for workers, over half work less than full time across multiple jobs, most reported doing vital tasks in unpaid time and many report constant shift changes and unstable rostering arrangements; (3) Many report dissatisfaction with low pay rates and significant periods of unpaid work. Workers are rarely paid for travel time between clients and many are not reimbursed for out of pocket expenses incurred in the course of their work; (4) Workers report a lack of supervision, which was reinforced by respondents who were supervisors advising they have too many people to supervise effectively; and (5) Many workers report a lack of access to training and training is rarely provided in paid time.

Edited abstract from APO website. Show less