Exclusive: Financial pressures on the sector have started to bite, including at one of the country’s oldest service providers.
The Australian Foundation for Disability has announced it will close its community centres and Australian Disability Enterprise supported employment factory in Minchinbury, NSW, later this year.
Financial pressures have led to the decision, but the organisation, which has been a major player in the Australian disability service sector for almost 75 years, says it is not alone.
Afford CEO Jo Toohey said the sector was under pressure, forcing many providers to make tough decisions – including cutting services, merge with other providers or close altogether.
She told Health Services Daily that “there’s no question that the sector is going through a period of transformation, which is bringing its own set of challenges”.
“There is widespread fatigue for frontliners who are spending less time doing what they’re most passionate about – supporting those who need it – and more time on managing paperwork,” said Ms Toohey.
“There are also times when it seems we’re an easy target … a bit of a political football.
“That can wear you down, whether you work in the sector or live with disability yourself.
“I feel positive about the sector overall, however. It’s made up of dedicated, passionate people who will continue to go above and beyond to ensure people with disability have access to the support they need.
“I don’t see that changing any time soon.”
Afford has been providing disability services since 1951 and has received support from notable Australians throughout that time, including patronage from former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
Ms Toohey said the board and leadership team had worked hard to keep the community centres and supported employment factory up and running but could not find a solution.
“We have explored every possible path, but the reality is that the group-based centres and the ADE have been operating at a significant loss for some years and we have not been able to change that,” she said.
“We are an organisation that is truly about putting people first, so we have held off on making this move for as long as possible. But we can no longer carry these kinds of losses without other critical services and customers being impacted.”
While confident the move was the right one, Ms Toohey said the foundation was devastated by having to make it.
“Finding ourselves here is heartbreaking,” she said.
“We’re deeply concerned about how everyone will feel and how they’ll take the news, and our top priority will be to provide support and care for our people.
“But we’re also worried about the disability sector in general right now … it’s no secret we’re all under intense pressure.”
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In the past 12 months a significant number of providers have been open about their struggles. A handful have merged so they can continue supporting people with disability while others have cut back certain services or closed altogether.
According to the NDIS State of the Disability Sector Report 2024, half of all NDIS providers operated at a loss in 2023-24, and 21% are currently considering amalgamating or exiting the sector entirely – this is more than double the previous year’s figure.
“We’ve seen smaller groups forced to close altogether and we fear we’ll see more of these announcements in the coming months,” said Ms Toohey.
“Thankfully the vast majority of those who do work within it are deeply committed to continuing to provide support and services that empower people with disability to live the lives they want to and achieve their personal ambitions.
“And they, and we, are not going anywhere.”
The DROVA NDIS Provider Outlook Report 2025 agreed with this sentiment, finding that despite the difficulties the sector faced, providers were not standing still.
It found providers continued to show remarkable resilience in a climate of uncertainty. Many were already finding new ways to strengthen their financial sustainability, streamline compliance, optimise their workforce, embrace technology, safeguard service quality and scale sustainability.
The report included commentary from Michael Perusco, CEO of National Disability Services, who reflected that the introduction of the NDIS in 2013 had a noticeable impact on the broader sector.
Over the past decade it has transformed the way people access supports, funding has increased and more people than ever were receiving services, said Mr Perusco.
But he also acknowledged that with rapid expansion there has also been structural and financial pressures for those in the sector.
“Our own State of the Disability Sector report and numerous benchmarking studies show that most providers are facing serious financial challenges,” said Mr Perusco, in the report.
“Many of these are providers with deep expertise, who invest in their workforce, with decades of experience in their local communities.
“If we lost these providers it would be devastating for the sustainability of the NDIS and the people who rely on those quality services.”
Afford Board chair Carol Bryant agreed with Mr Perusco saying this awareness was the driving reason behind the move to shutter Afford’s community centres and Minchinbury factory.
“We have tried everything we could think of to avoid making this decision but after two years it’s clear there is no other choice,” said Ms Bryant, who joined the board in 2020.
“The most responsible thing we can do now is focus on providing the services we know have a long-term future and continue working for and with people with disability.”
Both Ms Bryant and Ms Toohey were adamant that Afford itself has a bright future.
“We have been supporting the community for close to 75 years now and we will be doing so well into the future,” said Ms Toohey.