2021-22 FAIR WORK AWARDS RATE DECISION AND NDIS APR
Today the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman published the decision from the Annual Wage Review 2021–22.
DIA welcomes the decision of the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Whilst the minimum wage is to be increased by 5.2% the modern award wages will be lifted by either 4.6% or at least $40 per week (this includes the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award, the award that the majority of Intermediary Services are delivered under).
DIA notes that the NDIA’s Annual Price Review is currently underway with outcomes yet to be announced. DIA Calls on the Commonwealth Government to recognise and implement the Fair Work 4.6% award rate increase to all Support Coordination and Plan Management price controls under the NDIS.
Both Support Coordination and Plan Management has not seen any change to the price limits for the previous two price reviews. In real terms this has resulted in an approximate 4.4% cut to our sector in real terms, this has had a massive impact for what are front line and critical services under the NDIS.
DIA made a 149-page submission to the NDIA Annual Price Review on the 29 November 2021. This submission was clearly prior to today’s decision by the Fair Work Ombudsman. As such DIA has provided the NDIA and published an update to our submission to include today’s Fair Work Ombudsman decision.
DIA would like to thank all organisations and providers who contributed to the DIA survey of the underlying conditions of the intermediary sector. The outstanding response provided DIA with an unsurpassed level of data that facilitated the development of robust, evidenced based Cost Models. The survey response consisted of:
- Over 800 individual responses which consisted of;
- 430 individual responses for Plan Management;
- 378 individual responses for Support Coordination;
- In excess of 115,500 individual data points.
Further DIA provided the NDIA with a de-identified data set to further support our submission.
Commenting on the today’s Fair Work Decision, DIA CEO Mr. Jess Harper said:
“The NDIA has set the current price limits for Support Coordination and Plan Management without reference to or by the use of a specific cost model. In DIA’s view this means that the Support Coordination and Plan Management price regulation has been set without adequate analysis of workers wages, market operation, cost drivers, workforce structure or NDIA’s own Support Coordination and Plan Management guidance materials.
Given this years Annual Price Review conducted by the NDIA and its consultants has been underway for over 8 months, it is DIA’s and the intermediaries market expectation that the NDIA will either accept DIA’s Cost model or produce a formal cost model of its own to fully justify the price control it sets for Support Coordination and Plan Management.”
DIA looks forward to the release of the NDIA’s Annual Price Review decision.
DIA 2021-2022 NDIS APR Submission – Update including the 2021-22 Fair Work Decision
DIA will continue to monitor the intermediaries sector to ensure and advocate for fair and reasonable price controls set by the NDIA that take into consideration fair wages for practitioners along with market operating conditions that drive the quality of service for people with a disability.