Why Disability Services Hiring Feels Like a Treadmill

Will, EnableUs Community

Welcome to the show -- and Winter, I want to start with a number that should make every NDIS provider sit up: turnover in disability services is sitting around 17 to 25 per cent. That's not a staffing hiccup. That's one in five, sometimes one in four, workers cycling out in a year, while you're also competing with aged care, health, and community services for the same limited pool.

Winter, EnableUs Community

[skeptical] The "17 to 25 per cent" bit is bad enough, but the part that gets me is the competition from three directions at once. Aged care, health, community services -- that's not one jobs market, that's a tug-of-war. If you're a support worker choosing between sectors, why wouldn't you go where the conditions look steadier?

Will, EnableUs Community

Exactly. And that's the workforce reality in 2026. Providers keep asking, "How do we find more people?" Fair question. But the deeper one is, "Why would a good person choose us, then still be here in 12 months?" Because if you're losing people as fast as you hire them, you're basically running a treadmill with payroll attached.

Winter, EnableUs Community

[matter-of-fact] And an expensive treadmill. The onboarding cost per new hire is about $2,130 to $3,320. Per person. So if someone lasts, I dunno, four months and leaves, you've paid the money, done the rostering scramble, done the buddy shifts, done the paperwork -- and then you start again.

Will, EnableUs Community

Right. "$3,320" is the number I'd pin to the wall. Because people talk about recruitment like it's just placing an ad on Seek and waiting. It's not. It's supervisor time, compliance time, training time, uniforms, systems access, all of it. And those costs multiply brutally when turnover is high.

Winter, EnableUs Community

[curious] Can I push on something, though? I think managers sometimes hear "high turnover" and assume the problem is workers being flaky. But the source material is pretty blunt: burnout is a major driver, high workload is the biggest reason retention is low, and 43 per cent of workers feel burnt out at least HALF the time. Half the time! That's not an occasional rough week. That's the climate.

Will, EnableUs Community

[serious] Yeah, and that's the uncomfortable truth. Burnout, casualisation, low pay, unclear career pathways, lack of permanent roles -- those aren't side issues. They shape whether your recruitment pitch sounds believable or not. You can't say, "We're supportive, we've got a great culture," then hand people unstable hours and patchy supervision. Candidates can smell that.

Winter, EnableUs Community

"Supportive culture" with no permanent shifts is a bit like advertising beachfront property and then showing someone a puddle. [dry laugh] It doesn't mean nothing -- but it is not the same thing.

Will, EnableUs Community

[chuckles] That's harsh... and fair. The providers doing this well in 2026 are not the ones advertising the most. They're the ones offering a believable reason to stay. That might be proper supervision, clearer career progression, a stable roster, real training investment, or just management that actually listens when staff flag a problem.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Wait -- "advertising the most" versus "offering a believable reason to stay." That's the whole game, isn't it? Because a job ad can attract attention, sure. But if your current staff wouldn't recommend you to a mate, the market hears that too. Your employer brand isn't what marketing says. It's what ex-staff say over coffee.

Will, EnableUs Community

That's beautifully put. Your employer brand is basically your reputation translated into hiring outcomes. And in this labour market, referrals matter because your current workforce is your most credible channel. A modest employee referral program often gives disability providers one of the best returns because referred candidates already have a realistic picture of the work.

Winter, EnableUs Community

[questioning tone] Okay, here's where I might disagree with you a bit. If you're desperate -- genuinely desperate -- doesn't recruitment matter more than retention in the short term? Like, if shifts are uncovered this week, I can understand a provider thinking, "I'll solve culture later. Right now I need bodies."

Will, EnableUs Community

[skeptical] I get the instinct, but I think that's exactly the trap. If you hire fast into the same conditions that made the last person leave, you've solved this week's roster and created next quarter's vacancy. Retention starts before the first shift. The promise you make in recruitment has to match the job people actually walk into.

Winter, EnableUs Community

[pauses] Yeah... "retention starts before the first shift" is the line that's gonna stick with me. Because once you say it like that, the split between hiring and retention sort of collapses. They're not two teams handing off a baton. It's one experience from ad to onboarding to month six.

Winter, EnableUs Community

So if that's true, then the ad matters more than people think. Generic ads create generic candidate pools. If the posting just says "support worker wanted, flexible role, rewarding work," you'll get a flood of applicants who may be lovely, but you're forcing fit to be discovered way too late.

Will, EnableUs Community

[matter-of-fact] Yep. Plain English, clear expectations, and specifics. Say the participant cohort. Say the support types. Say the hours. Say how much flexibility is actually available. Say whether supervision is regular, whether training is funded, whether there are career pathways. And include your values explicitly -- not as slogans, but what they look like in practice.

Winter, EnableUs Community

Give me an example of "values in practice," because that's where ads usually go fuzzy.

Will, EnableUs Community

Sure. Don't just write "we value respect and inclusion." Write something like: we encourage applicants with lived experience of disability; we're open to workplace modifications and practical solutions; staff receive regular supervision; feedback is considered by management. That's concrete. It lets the right people self-select in -- and the wrong fit self-select out.

Winter, EnableUs Community

[responds quickly] And "self-select out" is GOOD. I think some providers still act like more applicants automatically means better recruitment. Not if half of them applied to a vague ad and discover in week two that the role is personal care across split shifts in a high-complexity cohort. That's not a candidate problem. That's an information problem.

Will, EnableUs Community

Exactly. Limit the key criteria too -- between five and ten points is a solid rule. If you throw fifteen bullet points of jargon at people, you don't look rigorous, you look exhausting. The ad should help candidates picture the actual job, not decode a compliance puzzle.

Winter, EnableUs Community

And channel matters. Seek and Indeed are still dominant for disability roles, but that's not the whole map. LinkedIn makes more sense for coordinators, allied health, management. Community Facebook groups can work surprisingly well for local support worker roles, especially in regional areas where connection to the area is part of the draw.

Will, EnableUs Community

[warmly] Plus TAFE and uni partnerships. If you're connected with Certificate III in Individual Support, community services diplomas, allied health programs -- that is a live pipeline. A strong student placement program can convert into permanent employment better than almost any ad spend, because you've already seen the person in practice.

Winter, EnableUs Community

That one really matters in regional and remote areas too. Community-based recruitment -- growing the workforce locally -- tends to work better where importing staff is notoriously hard. You're not just hiring a worker, you're hiring someone with roots.

Will, EnableUs Community

Then the process itself has to reflect your values. Quick application screening for non-negotiables. A phone screen to test communication and initial values fit. A structured interview to explore situational responses and role-specific competency. Reference checks to verify what you've been told. And then compliant onboarding before they start.

Winter, EnableUs Community

[sharply] "Structured interview" is the part I'd underline. Because a reliable support worker isn't just someone with the certificate. It's that mix -- and it is a rare mix -- of compassion, consistency, and proven experience. If your interview is just a casual chat, you're not assessing the thing you actually need.

Will, EnableUs Community

And speed matters, especially around compliance. Every successful candidate for a risk-assessed role needs an NDIS Worker Screening Check before they commence. Straightforward applications can take about seven to 21 business days. If you wait until the very end to start that, candidates drift, accept another role, or just go cold.

Winter, EnableUs Community

"Seven to 21 business days" is exactly the kind of admin delay that kills momentum. Same with Working With Children Checks for roles involving participants under 18, and right-to-work verification before the first shift. None of that is optional, so the smart move is to start early and explain the timeline clearly.

Will, EnableUs Community

[reflective] Keep candidates informed too. Receipt confirmation, timeline updates, prompt outcomes -- that sounds basic, but in a compliance-heavy process it's how you reduce drop-off. A slow, disorganised process tells candidates something about how your service probably runs on a Tuesday afternoon.

Winter, EnableUs Community

And a warm, responsive process tells them something too: maybe this place is actually organised, maybe supervision will happen, maybe if I raise a concern someone will answer. Which brings us back to our little disagreement. I started out wanting to separate recruitment from retention. I don't think you can.

Will, EnableUs Community

No, I don't think so either. Every departure is not just another vacancy. It's a participant losing continuity, losing trust, losing a relationship that may have taken months to build. So the best recruitment system is the one that filters for stayers, supports them properly, and makes staying as compelling as joining.

Winter, EnableUs Community

[softly] If your hiring process ends when the contract's signed, you've already started the next vacancy.