A Cry for Quality: The Unsettling Truth about Some NDIS Service Offers


 I was scrolling through my social media feed recently when an ad popped up that made me pause. “Urgent: Looking for Support Worker in South Brisbane for Community Support… Can start asap.” The pay? $33 on TFN and $35 on ABN for six-hour shifts. At first glance, it may seem like a standard job advert, but to those acquainted with the nuanced world of the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), it reflects a more profound issue.


I am not against enterprise or the quest to earn – it is human, and when done right, it fosters innovation, quality, and customer-focused services. However, there is a fine line. On one side of this line lies the pursuit of excellence and quality care, and on the other, the perilous path where profit becomes the only focal point, shadowing the essence of care, quality, and human dignity.


The ad I stumbled upon is an unsettling reminder of a lingering issue - a scenario where the quest for profit overshadows the primary essence of the NDIS - quality, personalized, and dignified care for persons with disabilities.


ABN holders offered less than the minimum wage is a glaring incongruity. It raises questions not just about the financial aspects but extends into the realm of quality of care. Are we, in the haste to cut costs and maximize profit, undermining the core objective of offering tailored, quality support to individuals with disabilities?


One of the celebrated merits of the NDIS is its potential to elevate the quality of care, thanks to its structure and funding that allows quality providers to reward their staff adequately. The scheme is designed to inspire a service landscape where skills, quality, and human dignity are paramount. Every dollar allocated is a testament to a nation’s commitment to ensuring that persons with disabilities receive care that is not just adequate but exemplary.


Yet, ads like the one I saw are stark reminders that there is a battle to be fought - a battle against a trend where the middleman is profiting at the expense of both the individual with a disability and the worker striving to offer support. It is a scenario where the essence of the NDIS is threatened, and the echoes of quality care are drowned by the noisy clinks of coins and bills.


As a community and as stakeholders in the transformative journey of the NDIS, ours is a task clearly cut out. It is a task that transcends passive observation to active participation in safeguarding the sanctity of quality, dignity, and personalized care. It beckons us to raise the banner of advocacy for a landscape where profit is not a demonized word but is earned within the revered corridors of quality, dignity, and respect for every individual with a disability.


The path ahead is one that we must tread with unwavering resolve. It is a path where every advert for a support worker is not just a call for employment but a clarion call for quality, dignity, and the unyielding upholding of the esteemed principles that the NDIS stands for.


Every individual with a disability is not just a recipient of care but a bearer of rights to quality, dignity, and personalized support. Every worker is not just an employee but a custodian of the sacred trust to offer quality care. In this esteemed narrative, there is no room for compromise. The sanctity of quality care, underlined by respect and dignity, is not just an ideal but a reality we must unwaveringly uphold, advocate for, and defend.



About Niki Gent

Niki Gent stands as a stalwart advocate for integrity, quality, and compassion within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) landscape. With a legacy deeply rooted in over two decades of hands-on experience, Niki is a beacon of expertise, insight, and unwavering dedication to the sanctity of dignified, personalized care.


Niki’s journey is a poignant narrative of resilience, a story that transformed into a remarkable trajectory of academic and professional achievements. She’s not just a holder of a Master’s Degree in Business, a Graduate Diploma in Forensic Psychology, and a Master’s in Social Work - Niki is a living testament to the power of unwavering determination and the indomitable human spirit.


Her voice, enriched by years of experience working in Family and Child Services across diverse terrains including Australia, Nauru, and Papua New Guinea, is a harmonious blend of professional expertise and deeply personal insights. Niki doesn’t just speak from a pedestal of academic and professional accomplishment; she communicates from a place of lived experience, empathy, and unwavering commitment to human dignity.


In the complex and often challenging world of the NDIS, Niki emerges as a voice of reason, a clarion call for the unwavering upholding of quality and personalized care. She is not just an observer but an active participant, a relentless advocate who sees beyond the surface, identifies gaps, and strives for a landscape where every individual, regardless of their disability, is accorded the respect, dignity, and quality care they inherently deserve.


Niki is not just a professional; she is a movement, a force of transformation that challenges the status quo, identifies gaps, and illuminates the path to an NDIS landscape where quality is not a buzzword but a lived reality, where individuals with disabilities are not just recipients of care but active participants in a narrative defined by dignity, respect, and unwavering quality.


In every word, every advocacy, every insight Niki shares, you encounter not just a professional, but a soul deeply committed to transforming lives, raising standards, and ensuring that the NDIS isn’t just an initiative but a transformative journey for every participant, worker, and stakeholder. Join Niki in this insightful journey, where every word isn’t just information but a step towards an NDIS landscape defined by dignity, quality, and transformation.

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