3 October 2025
Committee Secretariat
House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
PO Box 6021
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
By email: Health.Reps@aph.gov.au
Dear Committee Members
Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative (‘the Initiative’)
Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback in relation to the above.
About QCOSS
Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) is Queensland’s peak body for the social service sector. Our vision is to achieve equality, opportunity, and wellbeing for all Queenslanders.
QCOSS’ position
QCOSS’ submission in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 underscored the need for planning to ensure the reforms resulted in people receiving the support they need. We welcome the Commonwealth Government’s progress on its initiative to provide foundational supports for children with mild to moderate developmental delay and this consultation process.
QCOSS members support people with disability who are National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants, as well as those who do not receive funded support. Some members focus on providing disability services and advocacy as their core business, while others interact with people with disability in accessing other supports unrelated to the NDIS.
QCOSS’ submission is limited to responding to the fourth term of reference: ‘identify gaps in workforce support and training required to deliver Thriving Kids’. Many of our member organisations will make submissions to this inquiry that discuss other elements of the Terms of Reference. Their specialist expertise in disability support services is significant, and we ask the Committee to carefully consider their submissions.
Providing disability services as a community organisation
In recent years, Queensland community organisations have increasingly raised concerns about the unsustainability of providing disability services under the NDIS. Member organisations have raised the following concerns:
- Changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act in the last year have seen an observed increase in the number of NDIS participants having their plans ended and being found ineligible for the scheme.
- NDIS pricing arrangements do not realistically assess the administrative costs for not-for-profit organisations. ^1^
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Pricing arrangements for services delivered in regional, rural and remote parts of the state for NDIS participants do not adequately cover costs.
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Not-for-profit organisations running deficits as they provide services to assist people with disability who may not receive adequate funding.
These concerns are consistent with National Disability Services’ (NDS) State of the Disability Sector Report 2024, which found that 88 per cent of their survey respondents identified that operating conditions in the sector have worsened, and 71 per cent disagreed that current NDIS pricing arrangements can provide the support required for scheme participants.^1^
Many QCOSS member organisations, some of whom have run disability programs for several decades, have transitioned out of providing disability services due to the issues raised above, or have plans to do so.
Community sector workforce challenges
Every day, the community sector works to alleviate poverty, disadvantage and inequality for the benefit of all Queenslanders. Due to the cost-of-living and housing crisis, recent years have seen hardship touch the lives of far more Queenslanders, while also having a deeper impact on those already struggling.
Demand for community services, and complexity of need among service users continues to grow. QCOSS’ State of the Sector Report 2024 found that only 7 per cent of QCOSS Community Sector Survey respondents were always able to meet demand for their organisation’s services. Fifty-two per cent of respondents reported that waiting times have increased for their service, and 84 per cent indicated an increase in complexity of need among service users.^2^ These increasing demands are causing significant workforce challenges for the sector with 63 per cent of respondents indicating that it is becoming more difficult to attract and retain staff.^3^
Without funding reform these workforce shortages could become more severe. Both Jobs Queensland and the Commonwealth Treasury have predicted that the social services industry workforce will need to grow considerably in the immediate and long-term future to meet demand.^4^
In Queensland alone, Jobs Queensland have projected there will be 522,446 people employed in the health care and social assistance sectors in Queensland by 2027-28, an additional 57,856 people employed since 2023-2024 – the largest growth of any industry. The largest percentage increase within the industry of 15.8 per cent will be within ‘other social assistance services’, which includes disability work.^5^
Government procurement practices
Procurement practices have long been a chief concern for community organisations. In 2010, the Productivity Commission Report into the Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector highlighted “…that current government tendering, contracting and reporting requirements impose a significant compliance burden and constrain the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. There is a
sense of frustration that often these arrangements do not appear to result in improved service delivery outcomes for clients.”^6^
While some jurisdictions have implemented reforms to improve conditions since this report, the majority of community organisations in Queensland still have contracts which are short-term having to employ staff on short-term contracts as a result. This job insecurity is particularly concerning given the community sector is a highly feminised workforce.
QCOSS outlined several key reforms necessary to improve procurement practices across all community services ahead of the 2024 Queensland budget, including:^7^
- Providing longer contract agreement terms, including appropriate lead in times for contract renewals.
- Providing grants that reflect the real cost of delivering services including:
- Funding for professional development of staff and external supervision of staff where required by progressional registration bodies.
- Funding to provide incentives for regional, rural and remote service providers.
- Supporting service integration and collaboration, and funding for place-based services.
- Funding to build the data capability of organisations with a view to moving to outcomes-based commissioning.
Both major parties endorsed QCOSS’ reforms ahead of the 2024 state election. We are committed to working with the Queensland government to implement these whole-of-government procurement principles as a matter of priority. QCOSS also acknowledges the work the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) are undertaking related to commissioning reforms for the broader community services sector alongside the Commonwealth Government.
These reforms would ameliorate workforce challenges the community sector experiences and result in better outcomes for service users and the success of the Initiative in the following ways:
- longer contract terms would improve recruitment and retention challenges by providing better job security for the workforce;
- grants that reflect the real cost of delivering services would ensure community organisations could invest in ensuring there are enough staff to meet demand and invest in the professional development of staff; and
- funding the data capability of organisations would help monitor the progress of service users and success of programs like the initiative.
Conclusion
The Committee should consider the sustainability of the sector and reforms to government procurement practices when making recommendations for the Initiative especially as they relate to the structuring of program funding. Implementing reforms to procurement practices will result in more adequate workforce support, contribute to the success of the Initiative and support positive outcomes for people with disability.
When considering their recommendations, the Committee should carefully consider the important role the NDIS and other disability supports, like the Initiative, play in our community. Rights respecting design of policy, systems and processes must ensure that individuals seeking support are treated with dignity and empowered to actively participate in decisions that affect them. We reiterate the importance of considered strategic planning with such significant reforms to ensure those who need support receive it and any potential unintended impacts are carefully considered.
Thank you again for the opportunity to provide our submission.
Yours sincerely,
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Aimee McVeigh
Chief Executive Officer