The 2017 State in the Disability Sector Report was released during the recent CEO Meeting, organised by National Disability Services (NDS) in Sydney. The report shows that disability support providers are feeling immense pressure as they navigate the changes in the sector, as well as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) rollout. 

According to the NDS website, most findings in this report are based on the 2017 Annual Market Survey, completed by 516 disability service providers. This survey focused on the 2016-2017 financial year, the concerns of service providers, and the support they need to continue servicing the market.

Some of the concerns highlighted are:

• workforce shortage;
• pricing issues;
• lack of market data;
• scale of required changes;
• financial uncertainty;
• decreasing business confidence;
• policy issues; and
• NDIS planning and IT portal issues.

As the peak body for disability service providers, NDS has committed to leading the call for reforms. Some of the reforms required are:

• NDIS prices that reflect realistic costs;
• securing the future of Disability Enterprises;
• increased investment in research and data analysis;
• efficient NDIS IT portal and streamlined processes;
• more investment and sector and workforce development.
• NDIS planners with experience and expertise; and
• increased flexibility and local decision-making in the NDIS.

To read more and download the report, go to the NDS website. You can also download a fact sheet on the report's statistics.