The disability workforce and COVID-19: initial experiences of the outbreak

Abstract

This report provides analysis of workers’ experiences of delivering disability services and supports in the early stages of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia. Data is drawn from a survey of 2341 disability workers, conducted in March 2020. The survey was designed primarily to help understand the experiences of disability workers, and the challenges they confront in the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It was planned and designed prior to the outbreak of the virus in Australia. However, the data collection period coincided with the period that social distancing measures were introduced and increased in Australia. As such, many workers provided comments in the survey that highlighted the significant issues and challenges they faced in the context of COVID-19. These included access to PPE, workplace safety protocols, barriers to social distancing and self-isolation, and the need for further industrial responses and workforce supports to sustain quality service delivery through the pandemic and recovery phase.