Demand for allied health services is expected to increase with the NDIS, particularly in the critical area of early childhood intervention.
Allied health professionals play an important role in conducting assessments, delivering therapeutic interventions, and prescribing and assisting with aids, equipment and other assistive technology solutions for people with disability.
Some allied health professions are already in short supply. Experience from the Barwon NDIS trial shows that maintaining an adequate supply of allied health professionals can be particularly challenging in rural and regional areas, where a change in one or two workers can deplete local supply.
A further challenge is the absence of consistent frameworks to support capability development in complex disability among allied health professionals.
This plan addresses these challenges through complementary projects that will build Victoria’s allied health capacity and capability. This includes the development of an allied health workforce capability framework to foster the expertise of allied health professionals working in disability, and to improve service capacity through greater use of allied health assistants and VET-trained workers.
The Victorian Government will also continue to support national initiatives to build allied health workforce capacity across the country and provide better access to allied health services for people with disability.
The allied health assistant workforce project is supported by funding from the Commonwealth Government’s NDIS Sector Development Fund.
Objective:
Increase the capacity and capability of allied health professionals and use of allied health assistants to support people with disability.
Actions:
- Provide training and assistance to allied health professionals and VET-trained disability workers to increase their ability to support people with complex disability.
- Develop a capability framework and educational resources to support allied health professionals to work with people with disability.
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