Submission 814
Submission to the Senate Inquiry Regarding NDIS Provider Sustainability and
the Future of Allied Health Services
I welcome the opportunity to provide feedback to the Senate Inquiry regarding the sustainability of disability and allied health services in Australia.
This submission is provided from the perspective of a multidisciplinary allied health organisation supporting children, young people, adults, and families within the community. Our organisation provides psychology, occupational therapy, speech pathology, dietetics, and art therapy services, supported by clinical governance, administration, and operational systems.
A significant proportion of the families we support access services through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). We strongly support the principles of the NDIS and the intention to provide people with disability and developmental differences with timely access to meaningful support. However, current conditions are placing significant pressure on the very providers required to deliver these supports.
The Sustainability Challenge for Community-Based
Allied Health Providers
Community allied health providers play a critical role within the disability ecosystem. Many provide long-term, relationship-based, family-centred supports that cannot be easily replaced if services become unavailable.
Over recent years, providers have experienced substantial increases in operational costs including wages, rent, insurance, technology, administration, compliance requirements, professional development, and governance responsibilities.
At the same time, NDIS pricing arrangements for many allied health supports have not kept pace with these increasing costs. This creates a growing gap between the true cost of delivering safe, high-quality services and the funding available to provide them.
This issue is not simply a business concern. It is a participant access issue.
When established providers reduce services or close, participants and families lose access to trusted clinicians, multidisciplinary teams, and continuity of care. In many communities there is already limited capacity, with waitlists for essential supports.
The Importance of Recognising Different Provider
Models
A key concern is that comparisons across the allied health sector do not always reflect the differences between service models.
Submission 814
A private health provider with a mixed funding base and lower administrative requirements may operate very differently from a provider supporting a large number of NDIS participants with complex needs.
NDIS service delivery often requires additional activities including:
- coordination with families, carers, schools, and other professionals
- preparation and documentation requirements
- risk management
- compliance systems
- multidisciplinary collaboration
- staff training and supervision
- additional administrative support These elements are essential to quality and safety but create real operational costs.
Sustainable pricing must recognise the true requirements of disability service provision rather than comparing fundamentally different service models.
Protecting Workforce Capacity
The allied health workforce is one of the most important resources within the disability system.
Experienced clinicians and providers have built significant capability in supporting children and families with developmental delay, autism, disability, communication needs, emotional wellbeing, sensory differences, and functional participation.
If providers cannot remain sustainable, there is a risk of losing not only businesses but experienced clinicians from the sector.
This impacts:
- participant choice and control
- access to services
- early intervention
- family support
- workforce development
- community capacity
Supporting Reform While Protecting Access
Reform is necessary and welcomed. It is important that public funds are used effectively, services are evidence-informed, and participants receive supports that improve outcomes.
However, reform must also ensure that experienced, ethical, community-based providers remain viable.
Submission 814
A sustainable disability system requires:
- fair recognition of the true cost of service delivery
- pricing models that reflect compliance and quality expectations
- support for multidisciplinary approaches
- protection of regional and community-based service access
- consultation with providers delivering services on the ground
Recommendations
I respectfully recommend that the Senate Inquiry consider:
-
Reviewing allied health pricing arrangements to ensure they reflect the actual cost of delivering quality disability services.
-
Ensuring comparisons of provider costs consider the different responsibilities associated with NDIS service delivery.
-
Recognising the value of multidisciplinary community providers in maintaining access, early intervention, and continuity of care.
-
Engaging directly with small and medium providers to understand operational pressures before further reforms are implemented.
-
Considering the impact of provider closures on participants, particularly children and families who may already face significant barriers accessing services.
The success of disability reform relies not only on good policy design but on maintaining the skilled workforce and service infrastructure needed to deliver that vision.
A strong NDIS requires strong, sustainable providers.