Highlighting Urgent Ongoing Safety Issues for NDIS Workers

Latest news from The Guardian highlights growing concerns about safety risks faced by workers in Australia’s National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), with staff reporting incidents of stalking, harassment, threats and physical violence while carrying out their roles. Some workers describe confronting situations such as aggressive behaviour at service centres, death threats, and participants threatening self-harm or violence toward staff.

A government-commissioned safety review conducted in 2023 made 36 urgent recommendations to improve protections for frontline workers after a staff member was stabbed at a service centre. However, despite the review being delivered to the government in May 2024, staff and unions were not given access to it for 15 months, and several key safety upgrades are not scheduled to be fully implemented until 2027.

Data cited in the article shows the scale of the issue: between August and October 2025, there were 445 security incidents across NDIS service centres, including multiple high-severity incidents involving threats of violence or self-harm. Unions argue the slow rollout of reforms is unacceptable given the ongoing risks faced by employees. While workers emphasise their commitment to supporting participants, they argue that stronger and faster safety reforms are needed to ensure staff can do their jobs without facing violence or intimidation.

The NDIA says it has begun implementing safety improvements, including security officers at sites, upgraded procedures and wellbeing support programs. However, staff and advocates maintain that basic safety infrastructure — such as CCTV, secure barriers and safer office design — should be implemented immediately to protect workers.