Three south-west NDIS providers have welcomed $20,000 in federal government funding, saying the much-needed cash will allow them to spend more time with clients and less time on slow back-end systems.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It comes after the federal government announced a review into the scheme amid mounting pressure from participants and providers alike.
READ more:
Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan, said Southern Stay in Hamilton, Mpower in Warrnambool and Pathways for Living in Portland would each receive up to $20,000 to build their workforce and work better within the NDIS.
Kerry Nelson is the chief executive officer of MPower, developing programs and providing support to over 500 people on the NDIS in the south-west.
Ms Nelson said the funding will allow staff more time to focus on clients and their needs.
"We lose so much valuable time with our clients dealing with slow software," she said.
"It will be fabulous for us to purchase new software that actually fits with the NDIS system."
Southern Stay chief executive officer Paul Lougheed said the NDIS was growing at an unprecedented rate.
"The disability services workforce is expected to grow by 45 per cent over the next three to four years as an outcome of the rollout of the NDIS, this level of growth is unprecedented," he said.
"This funding will go a long way to support the workforce."
He said there were more announcements to come.
"There's $22 billion coming into the NDIS, there will be a whole new workforce," he said.
"We're really targeting quality training."
Mr Tehan said the funding, made possible through the Transition Assistance Funding pool, will help transition organisations from block funding to the new consumer-driven model of the NDIS.
"It will ultimately empower people with disability right across our community by providing them more choice when it comes to disability options," he said.
A further funding round of Transition Assistance Funding will open later this year.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.