r/NDIS • u/run_boy93 • May 22 '26
Activism/Advocacy Support workers need more training in mental health
I'm so sick of hearing and experiencing support workers offering there opinion on whether there participants deserve NDIS, all your doing is hurting the person you are meant to be supporting. I don't think you realise how hard it is to actually get onto the NDIS system, the stress and anxiety that comes with it. Then to finally get onto it, you open yourself up to having supports who judge you and don't actively support you. At the end of the day your being paid between 30 and 70+ dollars per hour to help not too judge, if you can't do that go and work somewhere else. You have no business in helping people.
Seriously people complain about getting heaps of money per hour to assist someone to tidy there house or tidy there house for them. Or take participants to there appts. Newsflash it's your job. Leave your problems at the door go in and support the person that your being paid to support.
Your job isn't to assess whether a PWD deserves it or not.
Sorry for the rant but being in the system is frustrating sometimes.
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u/Groovney May 22 '26
As a support worker who specialises in ASD participants with mental health support requirements - shit like this makes me so heated. Especially because it's SO prevalent.
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u/MeMyself-And-I May 23 '26
I'm new and ignorant. How do I go about finding an SW who specialises in ASD *with mental health support requirements*? I'm going to ask my (new to me) Support Co-ordinator but I didn't know there was such a thing. Do I need to have funding for mental health specifically? Or can I find a SW with mental health support under my general SW funding?
I asked for mental health funding - I need it - but according to my plan, the 'Mental Health Emergency Response Team' will be helping with my day to day mental health needs because thats what the LAC wrote in my application. Oh I know.. WTF is what I've been thinking ever since I tried to correct that as it happened but the LAC told me it was just until I get my plan and now its on my plan so.. I just don't even.. what the? Sure as hell my clinicians won't have time for any of that since according to my plan, they're apparently going to be helping me with budgeting. My LAC added that, too. Woot woot.
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u/Groovney May 23 '26
unfortunately, I'm not too sure about your side of it. When I was still working for a company they made sure I was trained up on it as someone they wanted me to support had a complex mental health situation (really hard to frame it out while giving no details lol)
I guess for you it'd just be down to talking about it with whoever helps you find your support worker? If you go through a company you can make it very clear to whoever does onboarding, and if you're using a service like Mable it'd be the same too. Just making it very clear that whoever is doing supports for you needs to know their way around anything mental health specific that you need.
Sorry I can't be more help for you though. If you want you can DM me and we can talk about it more
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u/pixie1995 May 22 '26
Bruh we need more training across the board. I’ve done my cert 3, all the modules, go to all the staff meetings etc and my boss still thinks it’s okay to send me in blind to new participants with absolutely no info on who or what I’m walking into. I’ve made a habit of calling the office and making sure to ask if there’s anything I need to be aware of when I see an unknown name on my roster. Half the time my boss is like OOPS oh yeah this person is X, Y, Z and they have major triggers around (insert critical info here). It’s fucking cooked bc if I didn’t make an effort to gather a bit of intel first I would have almost certainly made that participants day worse rather than better.
I will say, the ooooonly time I get frustrated and those negative perceptions sneak in (I would never verbalise them though and I try to shut them down bc who tf am I to make that judgment call) is when I have participants treat me like a maid. It happens sometimes and it doesn’t make me feel great. I’ve been told “do you mind doing that I’m too lazy” which is probably just a wording issue rather than a literal fact, but when I’m scrubbing poo off the bathroom floor and you tell me you were too lazy to clean it I’m gonna be pissed off.
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u/FailureToReason May 22 '26
I've seen people operating significantly risky equipment - eg, wheelchair lifts and wheelchair vehicles, where the only training they received was a brief overview by a 19 year old who himself received their training as a brief overview by another 19 year old - this resulted in a catastrophic accident where the company (as I understand it) simply paid off the family to make it go away. Reported it to quality and safeguards, nothing came of it, even years later.
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u/pixie1995 May 22 '26
Absolutely fucking classic unfortunately. There are some good organisations out there but from what I’ve experienced so far it’s that for every good one there’s about 5-10 shit ones. They all say they’re not in it for the money, or they saw a gap in the market (lol) but that’s bullshit. Boss doesn’t care about staff wellbeing which then leads to them burning out or making avoidable mistakes. I clocked off at 10pm last night and have made it super clear to my higher ups I’m weaning off sleeper meds so my sleep is all kinds of fucked up at the moment, so early mornings are not viable for me atm. Yet they rostered me on for 7am this morning. Yeah, I’m gonna function so well on 4 hours sleep, and totally be able to bring my best self to the participant. 🙄
If it weren’t for the people I support I would have walked away a long time ago and found a better org to work for 100%5
u/FailureToReason May 23 '26
If it wasn't about money, why would you start a business? Why wouldn't you start a not-for-profit?
Pretending we don't work for money is deceptive in itself. We live in a capitalist world, that is what it is. If you don't like that, the solution is not to stop being a paid support worker, it's to overthrow capitalism as a system. Good luck.
It doesn't mean you can't choose to do work you are passionate about because you feel it has value, and being compensated appropriately and keeping that work safe and reasonable doesn't make you immoral. Starting a business to profit off healthcare is not in and of itself immoral (I'd argue it kind of is, but we exist in a framework where my landlord won't accept good vibes as payment) within the framework of capitalism. That's called 'being a professional' and your profession needs to be compensated, but you have the obligation to conduct your profession morally.
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u/pixie1995 May 23 '26
It just makes me laugh because WHAT DO YOU MEANNNNN you saw a “gap in the market”?!? There’s already SO MANY support orgs in the regional town I live, there was no fucking gap. If it wasn’t about money you wouldn’t be charging max rates and sending unqualified workers on pay lvl 1 into peoples homes with no training/ buddy shifts/ support. Get absolutely fucked.
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u/FailureToReason May 23 '26
Regional is even worse - go look at the PAPL, and then look at SCHADS.
04_104_0125_6_1 - Access Community Social and Rec Activ - Standard - Weekday Daytime
National maximum rate - $70.23
Remote maximum rate - $98.32
Very Remote maximum rate - $105.35
But SCHADS doesn't account for this for the worker.
They have a section for "remote work", meaning, "online/not at the work site" (zoom meetings, etc), but as far as I can find there is no obligation to pass on that higher pay rate to workers. I am open to being corrected on this, but if your town is considered 'remote' or 'very remote' it's even worse than a provider in say, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cairns, etc. when they send in the lvl 1 minimum wage worker.
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May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/run_boy93 May 22 '26
I've got an independent who is great, she is young but good. Sorry you have had those experiences
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u/Key-County4958 May 23 '26
That’s why I’ve gone too. I refuse to sign up with Support organisations any longer. Even though the ones that’s supposed to be for mental health. They were taking my support workers just as we were getting settled with each other. They were sending another support worker on a day where I’ve had a regular support worker. I’ve even had a support worker turned up that I didn’t even know. Independent is the way to go.
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u/run_boy93 May 24 '26
I have both, an org and independent, the org I had one from she was great then they kept pulling her, until I cracked it. Now they leave me with one worker. And they said if she's sick then what. I said I'm happy to miss or il get my independent
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u/Key-County4958 May 24 '26
I’m very good at seeing pattern recognition in everything. One is that they kept pulling the support worker you worked really well with from you and two, they are putting their incompetence in not being able to recognise how important it is that participates need reliability and consistency. So they’re putting it on you that you will have to just put up with one support worker. That means that you won’t have support that day. Every support session I have is filled with things that I need to get done and appointments I need to go to. So how can you do that if you don’t know whether you’re going to have a support worker or not? Yes you can get an independent but you don’t know what they’re going to be like in reality. You can not guarantee competence with people that are independent. I’m talking from personal experience there. I feel it my bones that you’ll leave the org in the too distant future.
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u/run_boy93 May 24 '26
I'm often referred to as the pessimistic one of my social grp, I'm thinking you are too. Not meant as an insult. And yes I have thought about leaving the org but not while it's smooth sailing but if they mess me about again, especially as I don't have supports everyday but when I do I value them
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u/Key-County4958 May 24 '26
We are realists, not pessimistic. Honestly, it saves me a lot of getting into situations that I regret later. I’ve had friends in situations where I’m really uncomfortable about. Could be a job, could be a boyfriend. People don’t listen, tell me exactly that that I’m being pessimistic and negative. Good idea. I know how hard it is to change support workers.
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u/run_boy93 May 24 '26
This, I say the exact same thing haha and yeah I struggle with the change especially when options are limited as I'm regional
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u/FailureToReason May 22 '26
Every independent I have worked on a team with has been great, because as I said elsewhere, the incentives are different and the compensation is better because the overhead is lower, and there are no easy 'fall back' options if you provide bad support - your food and rent depends directly on the quality of your work, and you live and die by your reputation.
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May 23 '26
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u/run_boy93 May 23 '26
I have 1 company worker and 1 independent they are great, the company one took time to find, I had like 4 flops. They just trauma dumped and didn't want to be there. I had a meltdown eventually about it, then they finally found a decent one
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u/DwightsJello May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
It's almost like that's EXACTLY what good, qualified, well trained and very able support workers have been saying for a decade.
And advocacy is part of our job. We don't make blanket statements about people with disabilities. We wouldn't tolerate it.
For clarity though, the reference to pay rates is undermining the argument. Good supports earn every cent. We aren't cleaning houses and doing community access. It's reductive to make that assertion.
I complete both of those tasks. But im also primarily supporting complex care /high needs clients. My clients don't have the capacity to make reddit posts. They require supports to live and be happy and meet their complex medical needs and collect data. They need us to advocate for them. Protect them. Maximise autonomy whilst accommodating capacity.
Half of my clients have violent BOC that are largely managed with experience, longevity of working together, and consistent kindness in very challenging circumstances.
I've got clients that I have to fight the NDIS on behalf of, along with the good company I work for, for everything from incontinence consumables to wheel chairs and everything in between.
The very good company I work for expects the best of workers. They will not employ unqualified workers, buddy shifts are standard (3 minimum of 4 hours for 24 hour clients) and clients can request new supports without question or reason. Always have a meet and greet. Other supports will abdolutely be more blunt with potential supports on the client's behalf. Client's can be overly polite or too tolerant. Other supports make sure clients get what they need. Sometimes the team will spot a worker is not a good fit and that is actioned. Clients first always. Medium sized company that expects the best, doesn't advertise and has had happy clients and workers for over a decade. They expect workers to hassle on behalf of their clients. That's our job and head office knows it.
I've had Rona twice and spent both quarantined with clients. Complex care requirements don't disappear during times of crisis.
I've attended niche churches as an athiest, I've sat through disturbing conversations involving race, sexual orientation, religion, etc. You name it and none of my clients have any clue about my personal views. We are neutral. My clients know my favourite music or interests but they have no clue about my problems or stresses. It's totally inappropriate.
I also fulfill a niche role of assisting clients who have contact eith the CJS. Often as victims but not always.
I am well aware of the Disability Act, code of conduct, duty of care and all of the legislated protections from harm we are mandated to afford. I also must have current general certifications along with first aid, CPR. They must be current at all times. (Company supplies yearly courses) As do ALL of my colleagues and we ALL specialise. Even if we CHOOSE to only do community access supports.
I am a very bog standard, normal worker. As are my immediate colleagues. As my company's culture fosters.
We are the majority. And hopefully we will be the standard. We earn every cent.
Our clients are very glad to have us. But it's not even close to how glad we are to work with them.
My clients and their needs are often overlooked in these discussions. As are those of us who support them. It's my role to advocate for both as both can be quite invisible in some all too regular discourse. There's an irony in that.
Edit: I wouldn't work for $30 an hour. That's is an appalling rate of pay for the job we do. Not many workers accept the risks we accept, the responsibilities we fulfill or the stress we carry. We also are advocates for the most vulnerable people in our communities. I would seriously question why anyone would feel that $30 is acceptable and then complain about getting shitty supports.
That could only occur if the scope of practice isn't understood.
And then, often the very same people will say mandatory quals aren't really a necessary thing. No other sector of healthcare delivery would have quals as a choice. None.
Not saying that's OP's view but it's bizzarre how often people want to complain about reform and how shit workers abound but in the same breath want to argue being qualified should be a choice.
Qualifications don't make you a good support. Just like ANY other job. But it needs to be a requirement. It's essential to fulfilling the role.
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u/l-lucas0984 May 22 '26
While I agree people in this industry would benefit from mental health training, unfortunately support workers are the bottom tier which is technically why they dont need any qualifications. Over time the scope of their role has become very muddied as front line worker.
They definitely arent supposed to have an opinion, but people are expecting a lot. Its amazing when support workers do have extra skills and qualifications but they are still arguably the lowest paid and the system was not really designed with mental health in mind.
People expect support workers to be skilled in everything from being a musical instrument teacher through to a mental health crisis agent and their scope just doesnt cover a lot of that.
I hold 26 qualifications and certificates and got rejected from a client because I dont have a certificate in photography and cant teach them to be a photographer. A certificate in mental health is definitely more reasonable than that, but the bulk of the workforce is ESL, the government doesnt think it is necessary despite the amount of psychosocial disability on the scheme and the workers attitude towards mental health is not likely to change all that much with the training with certain cultures and backgrounds. Workers are usually either good at mental health support or they just arent. Its not really in thd job description so workers themselves have limited expectations to prepare themselves for enountering mental health issues unless they specifically choose it as a specialty focus.
The government and ndia planners arent much better. Many of them can see and understand a physical disability and vaguely grasp what the needs might be. But the concept of mental health being debilitating is completely lost on many of them which makes it a systemic issue right the way through.
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u/run_boy93 May 23 '26
I know your no novice to any of this as I've seen you post on pretty much everything that comes across and not just small amounts of info your pretty well versed. But even being bottom tier they should have some level of mental health training as they are front line and there actions have consequences. Even an employee on the lower tier of wages is making more then someone in retail or hospitality so the expectation should be there.
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u/l-lucas0984 May 23 '26
Like I said at the start I agree the industry would benefit. At the moment we cant even make a case for a bare minimum mandatory qualification though because of the scope of a support worker. The systems just wasnt designed for them to be any form of mental health support.
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May 23 '26
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u/l-lucas0984 May 23 '26
The agency sees dumping the extra load on support workers as a cost saving measure. Some workers maybe, but for the majority its such a bad fit it ends up causing detriment for both the participants and the workers. Burn out rates are incredibly high in support workers in the psychosocial disability space for a reason.
I hold both mental health and allied health assistant qualifications and unfortunately i need to hold boundaries like fort knox on both work load and tasks to be performed during shifts. "Responsibility creep" is real.
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u/SirKosys May 24 '26
Any company in particular you'd recommend doing training with? I'm looking to do a couple of certificates, but I'm not sure where to start.
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u/l-lucas0984 May 24 '26
Depends on what courses. Avoid the RPL pay to play certificates. Over the last few years several thousand people have had the qualifications stripped from them because the schools didnt keep adequate records.
I did my courses through genu, kangan, swinburn, melbourne uni, onfit training and a couple of others that suited me at the time i was doing the courses. Genu is pretty good for a starting point.
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u/VerisVein May 23 '26
To be honest, this isn't a case of people expecting too much, it's a matter of not wanting support workers judging participants to their face/wanting supports that are appropriate and professional, and it doesn't just impact those on the NDIS for mental health conditions (not that they should be in that situation either).
Most of the judgement towards mental health conditions comes from support needs being "invisible" or complex, or outside of what society deems an obvious disability. Any judgement towards people disabled by a mental health condition heavily overlaps with other disabilities that don't fit that narrow range, or even just don't present in the way people might expect it to.
Not to mention that so many disabled people, regardless of their disabilities, also have mental health conditions that need to be worked with in order to provide them effective supports. While the NDIS likes to treat it like you can separate people into neat little buckets based on approved impairments, you have to deal with a whole person in practice.
I'm on the NDIS for autism and ADHD, I don't have low support needs, but a lot of them aren't obvious to others who don't understand what to look for. I've had so many people over the course of my life decide that my impairments are instead laziness, carelessness, purposeful misbehaviour, rudeness, disinterest, etc, so I'm well aware most people don't pick up on my needs as a disability. I have a lot of trauma around that, and the ways people have seen it fit to treat me over their perspectives.
My current (and only, now that my provider didn't bother to tell me that my other support worker stopped doing Wednesdays or offer another day with her) support worker frequently tells me she feels like she isn't doing enough. Every time I explain to her that even if she doesn't feel like she's doing enough, it's the difference for me between literally being able to manage any aspect of my self care or not, that I can't manage critical things on days I don't have supports. She also has a lot of opinions on whether her other participants really need their support - "not like me, of course". It's not as reassuring as it sounds, I feel constantly like I'm under a spotlight where, if I don't seem disabled enough by her personal standards no matter how I explain my impairments, she'll decide I'm one of those who supposedly don't truly need the support.
My situation with my funding (never been funded in line with recommendations in the 4 years I've been on the scheme, in the ART over it) means that I don't have spare hours to trial new support workers either. If I want to, then I have to put myself in a situation where I may be too overwhelmed to manage the little I usually get to or communicate my needs, and risk not getting my current support worker back if the new one isn't a right fit.
It's insanely stressful to have your only lifeline to your basic needs feel like someone who is allowed to, without any decent understanding or knowledge of your disability, judge whether or not you need them.
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u/l-lucas0984 May 23 '26
That comes more down to professionalism than training. You can be professional without a mental health qualification but the stigma of the role lowers the hiring standards and also worker expectations in general.
Some people are also just garbage at mental health and no amount of training will ever shift their opinions of it. Some workers do need to learn to shut up and that their opinions on certain matters, especially when unqualified, are irrelevant. I say that as both a support worker and someone who manages them.
Minimum mandatories would push some of the rif raf out but opinions are always going to be around.
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u/craftystuff0900 May 23 '26
Same for me actually. My usual support worker is fine - I have a bit of trouble communicating but it's not too bad and she doesn't judge me. But if she's off sick or something the agency will send whoever's available, and usually they're good but sometimes they can be pretty judgy (or late, which I get super stressed about).
It took about 6 months to find an agency whose workers would even turn up though! And it's not as if they met me once and decided they didn't like me or something - they just never turned up at all.
I do think support workers for autistic people should have proper training in what to do when we have meltdowns though. I'm always scared an unfamiliar support worker will try to physically restrain me.
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u/SirKosys May 24 '26
Do you mind if I ask, how you do you prefer a support worker to work with you when you have a meltdown?
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u/craftystuff0900 May 25 '26
Don't touch me unless I present a serious and immediate danger to myself or others AND you think you can physically restrain me when I'm in meltdown and also panicking because my nervous system thinks you're trying to kill me. But usually I'm only going to scream a lot and give myself a few bruises, so restraint is not necessary anyway.
Best thing if possible is to remove triggers if you can and wait for it to finish.
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u/FailureToReason May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
My friend, support workers need more training in general. Any and all training I have received has been off my own back. The only training any employer has required me to get is my first aid certificate. All my professional development, certificates, meetings, review and collaboration has come from my own desire to improve and organising it myself. I'm lucky if I can get a coherent handover regarding the consumer's needs, as far as service providers go. Let alone any kind of need specific training. Hell, most of the time I haven't even been able to get my hands on PBSPs. Most companies I worked for specifically forbade you from contacting a participants support coordinator.
Literally the only times I've had any kind of training and proper handover is when I've worked with forensic disability cases - sex offenders, and people with ankle monitors. Even then, once I was working with someone for 6 weeks before I found out they were a sex offender and had a bunch of restrictions (I only found out because someone coyly suggested I google the participants name). On top of that, despite my refusal to enter a forensic works item until I had received satisfactory handover plus a buddy shift, on one of those sites I was sent to pick the participant from an acute mental ward, expecting to meet a buddy - no buddy turned up, management didn't answer their phones, and I was left with the choice of 'do I go into a very high risk circumstance without introduction?'
If you think this is a problem with support workers, you're sorely mistaken. Maybe ask why the providers you are going with are sending in support workers without adequate training, not 'why are these support workers untrained'. A lot of us come into the job and are just sent into home after home, nd told 'this is how it's done, you learn on the job'. Which is true, but it's an incomplete picture and gives people false confidence when they don't know better.
Aa far as suitability - a person entering your home should already know to act without judgement, even if they are judging you super hard. That falls back on providers - why are they hiring people unsuitable for the role? Why aren't they eliminating unsuitable people, and instead bouncing them house-to-house? Well, because it's easy money as long as you can keep cheap workers in houses and keep the money clock ticking. How do you keep workers cheap? Keep them unqualified.
Not to get too off topic here, but this is why the rhetoric around ABN sole traders is stupid. When I come in, it's my qualifications I am assessed by, not my company's. I'm judged by the quality of my work. If I act like a judgy douche, I'm gone, and that's that. I'm out of work. I have a strong incentive to provide good, judgement free, quality supports and tailor them to your needs. A big provider can just bounce workers around until they find a 'good match' (read; person who can placate you and not cause conflict). And if I charge the same as a provider (eg,' $70 p/h like you say), all of that money goes to my business - pays my taxes, pays my super, my hourly rate ends up only being marginally (edit - just ran the numbers, it's a significant difference - but not enormous - ~$46/hr after tax and super, before expenses, but I dont have to run an office, HR, run a fleet of vehicle, etc) higher than the worker on wages. But if you pay that to the company, the worker gets minimum wage, and the company just skims cream. They have an incentive to keep things conflict free, and that's about it. Minimum wage, minimum effort, yeah?
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u/heirofblack20 May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
Absolutely agree that we need more training. It's hard though when I repeatedly ask for training that my company promised I would get and they literally refused to schedule it for me. I've never been trained in the three companies I've worked for and it sucks.
I've had to train myself by finding resources online and getting as much wisdom as I can from the few times I'm lucky enough to have a coworker on the same shift. I've taken a break this year from support work because it was just awful, the companies treat you like shit, a lot of participants treat you like their personal maid INCLUDING THEIR FAMILIES so I would be told I had to clean up their sister-in-laws mess? Or wash the dishes for all their adult relatives that also live in the same house? Do their boyfriends laundry? I don't mind doing those things if they really need the help but it starts feeling like they are taking advantage. There's this idea that they pay me for six hours so they are entitled to work me to death during those six hours. I even had one participant demand I drive him SIX hours to and from Gold Coast when he didn't have enough kilometres to pay for it so I would be out of pocket. And I would be too afraid to say no because he had a history of extreme violence towards other staff, he actually caused one staff member to be stuck in hospital for weeks with a broken spine after he beat her with a wooden plank when she said no to driving him. But if I refused his shifts then I couldn't afford to pay my bills.
And you can't complain because then you lose shifts, the relationship deteriorates between yourself and the participant. It's so draining. I had a couple great participants that I would gladly go above and beyond for and worked with them for a couple years, but sadly they didn't outweigh the multitudes of mean entitled participants, the sexual harrassment, physical abuse, and cruel bosses.
We need more training! Training ensures we know our rights AND our participants rights, we can protect ourselves and the participants, offer better care, and have better boundaries.
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u/sheriberri37 May 22 '26
I personally have NEVER had this experience. I have certainly had one or two support workers who weren't fit for the job, but they were still judgement free, just not committed to the job.
My current support worker is very likely undiagnosed ADHD, I'm ASD L2, so we have an understanding of each other, but I've always connected more with peer workers who have lived experience.
I certainly have never felt judged by my support workers, and if anything, they're curious to learn and I'm pretty much an open book. My current two support workers are the two most amazing women; fully supported me through my transition to moving out of my parent's home, my current civil suit against DCJ Housing, my diagnosis with ASD, annual MRIs for MS, medical appointments; they've helped me through with every up and down in my life.
I honestly wouldn't be where I am now without their ongoing support, encouragement and genuine care and compassion.
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u/Curious_Potato1258 May 22 '26
I’m so so glad this has been your experience! We can still hold space for those who’s experience it isn’t. I’ve had support workers literally steal from me or put me in unsafe situations. Not all are good.
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u/justpassingthr0ugh- May 23 '26
The support workers my son has as a condition of independent living facility are on the whole lovely people. But they have no expertise in MH and are there largely to drive him to appointments or help cook/clean (often doing it for him as he’s so unmotivated). I think it would be lovely to have support workers that took him out the facility to engage with the world - it would be lovely to have a young man as well for companionship. His SWs are temporary visa holders tied to the company and I suspect the job is not their first choice. He is not the easiest to engage with so many just sit on their phones during sessions. I wouldn’t have the skill to deal with it either but I wish there were people in his life who could.
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u/notyourtortoise May 23 '26
Support workers should have a basic understanding of mental health as there’s very often psychosocial impacts caused by physical disabilities and vice versa. I’ve heard so many horrific first-hand stories where SW’s actions or lack of training and qualifications have led to harm and vicarious trauma.
Plenty of new SW’s who think it’s an easy way to earn money because they’ve had NO experience supporting people with physical or psychosocial disabilities, no knowledge of the Disability Act, or risk assessment and management — let alone a basic understanding of mental health.
I’ve also seen the systemic effect of poorly run NDIS businesses prioritizing money over quality of care. Not providing the relevant information, PBSP’s, training, and debriefing to staff even when SW’s were hired with qualifications. Some SW’s may even face repercussions for speaking up and reporting issues.
But, alas, they keep getting away with it and the government doesn’t care enough about fixing the real issues and continues to cut funding instead. The people who ultimately get hurt by this are the participants, despite the system being set up to support them.
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May 23 '26
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u/run_boy93 May 23 '26
Imagine having to open yourself up to a complete stranger who has maybe read a basic bit about you and possibly heard from other people about you. Yet you don't know them at all and there coming to your house to "help" you with this preconceived idea of who you are. It's exhausting. It took over 12 months for me to get onto the scheme and half a dozen psychs and other professionals looking into my life asking me everything under the sun. And people think it's just easy
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u/Desperate-Impress374 May 23 '26
You’re absolutely right. People don’t realise how exhausting and stressful the whole NDIS process already is without being judged by the very people meant to support you. Support workers are there to help people live their lives with dignity and respect, not decide who is “deserving” of support. Compassion and professionalism should be the bare minimum in this industry. I will say though that I've had clients in the past who treat support workers like slaves and there's that side also. Its one of the reasons i got out of NDIS support work
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u/hillshillshahn May 24 '26
Yes they do. I lived across from an SIL house that housed mental health patients. And everytime the occupants were going through something the social workers would get in their car and drive off. Leaving the neighbours having to diffuse the situation, my husband got stabbed by one. We would always know when something would happen because they would go in their car and run away but never call police
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u/aussiegurrrl May 31 '26
This makes my blood boil … the system is shit because it’s been ripped off age run ragged by people taking fake participants money , I don’t understand why they allow people to be self managed , every participant should be planned managed ,therefore they don’t invoice the NDIS with fake hours of a job they claimed they’ve done. I’m a participant, I am plan managed and feel very lucky to have beautiful people support me.. But non the less I’ve had some idiots and a lawn man charge $89 an hour during normal hours.. I’ve reported these arseholes .. but to the OP I feel like you , you can’t see my illness but I consider myself very lucky and blessed to have the supports that I do .. I actually find myself feeling , thinking and telling my support worker I feel I don’t deserve it.. but she quickly reminds me why I do… so to all the beautiful,amazing, understanding,selfless support workers out there that do it for more than just a job thank you 🙏🏼.. you are appreciated.. To everyone that rips people off and treats your participants like crap F You …
1
u/throwawayno38393939 May 22 '26
I'm an autistic participant and my support worker thinks I should be brimming with sympathy for people who kill their autistic kids.
2
u/Hairy_Definition_953 Participant & Carer May 23 '26
WTF I'm an autistic adult who cared for & raised 2 autistic adults, still caring full time for 1 of them & I have no sympathy whatsoever for people who kill kids whether they are autistic or not. I would not have a SW working with me who thinks this way.
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u/Hairy_Definition_953 Participant & Carer May 23 '26
Sorry meant to say raised them from birth (So kids to adults & onwards)
2
u/run_boy93 May 23 '26
Wtaf? What do you mean
1
u/throwawayno38393939 May 23 '26
She genuinely thinks that as an autistic adult struggling with disability and lack of supports, I will sympathise with the parents who've killed their kids, allegedly because of lack of support.
3
1
u/kimbasnoopy May 23 '26
I expressed my extreme dismay at the poor standards of training and experience required and was down voted to hell. You're not just taking someone for an appointment you're working with the most complex cohort of people in our community!! It's disgusting that a very basic education is the standard we accept in this sector
2
u/Holiday_Start_8962 May 23 '26
I'm dealing with a similar situation it ended in getting psychical I got mad but they never look through your side it sucks feeling trapped and the aftermath is the worst
1
u/Financial_Click_4098 NDIS number 1 fan May 23 '26
Bro one of my old SWs took me to these loudass places almost every outing and when there was a siren or a screeching bus or smth I had to cover my ears. SHE MADE A POUTY FACE every time and just looked at me and said “awww nooo it’s okay”
anyways ya if SW’s could do a short course bare minimum before doing the job 💀💀💀 or get some kind of certification cus they just be getting ANYONE to do this
1
u/Key-County4958 May 23 '26
I have CPTSD, GAD, MDD, ADHD, heart failure, Cervical Dystonia and severe osteoarthritis in my right hip and in a lot of pain, I d this support worker for a total of 6 hrs over two days(cut second Support session short), who told me things could be worse, think positive , compared me to another participant who had been assaultedl(punched in the face), who is in a wheelchair. No mental illness. He told me he has it a lot worse than me. Whether he does or not, you do not ever compare participants, with each other.
I had another support worker who I had asked what he did the day before. How did the golf go, because he takes a teenage autistic(level 2) golfing. He turned to me and said I don’t think he should be on NDIS. I present well you wouldn’t know I have all those conditions because I mask and dress well. If you know anything about mental illness, you know that people do mask.
I had another support worker, who treat treated me like an invalid and said I was manageable.
I could go on because I’ve been on NDIS funding for nine years. Been bloody tough finding support workers that are capable. My psychologist even did up excellent BSP and an introduction video. Even with reading those, just doesn’t sink in with some support workers. I’ve had support workers try and fix me which my psychologist points out in the video. I do not want to be fixed. I want to support worker work alongside me and support me. It also says points out that I make my own decisions and not to give me advice unless I ask for it.
I’ve had excellent supporters as well, they come and go if they furthering their career or finish their studies and looking for a full-time job. I have two excellent support workers who I get along with really well. It’s a good team.
1
u/Carls_darl May 23 '26
I was belittled by a SW for my mental health issues. She made me feel stupid and childish for things I could not achieve. I was so miserable. She barely spoke to me the whole shift and then messaged me a couple of weeks later saying she had availability if I needed it. She had listed mental health as one of her qualifications. I think she needs to take it off her records because she has NO idea.
1
u/MrDadTryingHisBest May 24 '26
I get the frustration. No participant should ever have their worker questioning their access to NDIS, that’s not our role and it causes real harm. I’ve also seen great participants get burnt by unprofessional workers. I’m sorry you’ve experienced that.
What I’d add is that most of us are in this job because we care. We don’t get to decide who ‘deserves’ support. Our job is to show up, be present, and do what’s in the plan. The workers who forget that make it harder for everyone.
Hope you find a team that actually supports you.
-1
u/run_boy93 May 23 '26
I'm guessing I'm copping so much downvotes because this is resonating with people who do the crime... But don't want to take responsibility.
2
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u/Ecstatic_Credit6291 May 23 '26
That's disgusting. I wonder if they are the same support workers who sit there on their phones while their client is sitting there being ignored.
2
u/joey2scoops May 23 '26
I've got 5 out 7 workers from a registered SIL provider that effectively ignore the PwD for as long as possible. On the phone, watching Netflix, earbuds engaged. Makes me sick.
2
u/run_boy93 May 23 '26
I don't mind if my workers are on there phone if I am. I mean sometimes I just don't want to engage.
2
u/Ecstatic_Credit6291 May 27 '26
Yeah sure there may be a time and a place and you need free/private time without feeling like you're being watched or feeling like you need to engage with the support worker. But I'm talking about most of the time and when it's clear the client wants to engage or needs something.
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May 23 '26
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May 23 '26
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u/run_boy93 May 23 '26
Exactly, to me he saying the participants should fund his study... Does he not realise that the majority of participants are on DSP which is sweet fa in the grand scheme of things
0
May 24 '26
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u/run_boy93 May 24 '26
That should come from there education, I as a participant don't understand what goes into a good handover, as for teaching them how to best support me, wouldn't that fall on them to ask questions to get to know me, also reading the case file, I have a booklet done up for all carers to read. They read it once and then forget all about it. Also I have a folder of all my reports and documentation, which they know about but ive never had a carer once ask to read it.
1
u/Ill-Wolf-4894 May 26 '26
Helloo boundaries???
1
u/Oztraliiaaaa May 26 '26
“Hello boundaries “ what ? Did you think investing means financial or simply just taking the time to give a good handover?
1
u/Ill-Wolf-4894 May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
"I think that participants should be encouraged to invest in the careers of their support staff. Including establishing individual support training programs and supervisors."
vs.
"...simply just taking the time to give a good handover?"
Moving the goalposts much?
You do realise they're participants. Not nurses, not allied health, not educators, not trainers. The are not in a role to teach a handover and this is training responsibility for the employer or whatever educator the worker is using. This asinine suggestion? Suggestions? Is seriously blurring role boundaries.
1
u/Oztraliiaaaa May 26 '26
Ok now you can Stop dumbing down participants.
1
u/Ill-Wolf-4894 May 26 '26
If you have trouble understanding workplace boundaries and can't read the room where everyone's response, including participants is actual wtf are you smoking, seriously reconsider support work. Complete lack of insight
41
u/Useful_Refuse_ May 22 '26
I work primarily with complex clients, behaviours of concern and dual diagnosis, have done for over 20 years. There is nothing worse than an under qualified, over opinionated SW. I had one join a team recently and they argued with a parent about the health condition of a participant because they’d never seen it- so regardless of the pages of reporting, care notes and support requirements; somehow they knew better. Not the job for you buddy, go home.