One in five people in Australia have a disability – and the need for disability support workers has never been higher.
Trudy Firth, NDIS and disability educator at Chisholm has worked in the disability sector for 35 years. She says she’s seen a big shift in public attitudes to disability since she began her career.
“Now, people with disabilities aren't being ignored,” she says. “We understand they're out in the community and we are talking about disability more openly – including mental health.”
She points to recent Australians of the Year Dylan Alcott and Grace Tame as important public figures who are both advocates and spokespeople for people with disabilities.
“It's now something that we all acknowledge – we're not afraid to talk about it anymore,” says Trudy.
A historic change in the Australian disability sector was the launch of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), introduced by the Gillard government in 2013.
Trudy delivers Chisholm’s Introduction to the National Disability Insurance Scheme course, which is ideal for people wanting to become support workers or those with disabilities and carers wanting to know more about the scheme.
Trudy told us some of the key info those interested in becoming NDIS support workers might need to know before entering the sector.
What is the NDIS?
The NDIS aims to give people with disabilities control over how they access support services, so they can achieve greater independence in their lives.
First trialled in 2013, the NDIS became national and fully operational in 2020. As of March 2023, over 592,059 participants have an active NDIS plan. It is projected that by June 2024, there will be over 646,000 participants.
Trudy says one of the big changes the NDIS ushered in was the redirection of funding to people with disabilities.
“I was first trained to work in institutions, which were eventually closed, but the money still went to the service providers, not to the people with disabilities,” she explains.
“The NDIS now gives the money to the people with the disability. They then buy or purchase the services they want or recruit the people they want to help them. They are in charge – it's very, very different than it was.”
Under the scheme, participants register for an NDIS plan, which allocates them money for the services they personally require.
How do I become an NDIS support worker in Australia?
If you are interested in becoming a worker within the NDIS, you have a few options.
You could work as a support worker for a company that provides one-on-one care, or you may choose to register an ABN and work as a sole trader or within your own small business.
Trudy says workers can register on a digital platform such as Mable or HireUp, which allows you to match with people with disabilities who are looking for support.
“The person with disability will interview you and decide if you're the one that they want to work with or not,” explains Trudy.
She says there are numerous other opportunities to work within the NDIS. For example, you could offer a service supporting people to write their NDIS application.
A guest speaker in Trudy’s course works with women with disabilities who travel to present at conferences and events.
“She supports them to travel overseas and speak and make sure that they've got the right accommodation, the right food, water, and that there's access to the stage, and then she gets them back to their hotel – that’s her NDIS business.”
What’s it like to work with people with disabilities?
Trudy says working with people with disabilities is incredibly rewarding.
“I like seeing the positive change in someone's capacity to do things,” she says.
“It might be a small thing, like a smile. Or it might be an achievement, like learning to ride a bike or getting a qualification and a career that pays award wages.”
Trudy remembers working with a specific client who had sustained a brain injury.
“After her injury, she developed an English accent and she also developed a capacity to paint – but she wasn't able to afford the paint and canvases,” says Trudy.
“Through finding out about the NDIS and getting onto a plan, we were able to get her into art therapy.”
How can you learn about the NDIS?
A great place to start learning more about the NDIS is in Chisholm’s Introduction to the National Disability Scheme course.
Trudy says she teaches a very broad cohort of people, which includes people who want to become support workers.
“We have people who are changing careers, people who are carers, people with disabilities, nurses, allied health workers, doctors, truck drivers, bankers, etc. Actually, anyone who wants to be involved or is involved with the NDIS and wants to know a little bit more about how they can optimise either their plan or optimise getting a job in the sector.”
The two-week course is delivered fully online. It covers topics including your role as a support worker, health and safety, occupational violence, human rights, abuse and neglect of people with disabilities, as well as how to write up a NDIS plan and other documentation.
“If you're wanting to be a worker, we cover topics like how to get registered, where to go if you want to set up your own business as a sole trader, and how to work out your hourly charging rates,” says Trudy.
In every class, students hear from an industry spokesperson, which helps demystify some of the concepts and language used in the NDIS.
The Introduction to the National Disability Insurance Scheme is currently a government-subsidised course in Victoria, meaning you can likely study it free of charge.
You can also progress to Certificate III or Certificate IV in Disability, which will allow you to take on more responsibility and move into team leadership and management roles in organisations.
Ultimately, Trudy says, learning the fundamental skills needed to work with people with disability is its own reward.
“It's the small changes and the impact that you can have,” she says. “Helping to normalise people's lives is the best thing.”
Want to become an NDIS support worker? Consider studying at Chisholm today. Head to our health courses page.
