Support workers are the foundation of disability and child safety services. They support complex needs, manage high pressure environments, complete essential documentation and often work irregular rosters. In 2025, this work has become even more demanding due to workforce shortages, new compliance obligations and higher expectations from families and regulators.
Burnout is now a significant risk to service quality and organisational stability. It affects the wellbeing of workers, disrupts continuity of care and increases operational strain on providers. A sustainable and well supported workforce is essential for delivering safe, high quality services and meeting regulatory requirements.
Burnout Is Rising Across the Sector
Recent data shows a clear increase in burnout among support workers in Australia.
A major NDIS Workforce Retention survey cited in the NDIS Review reported that 43 percent of NDIS workers felt burned out at least half the time in their role.
A 2024 to 2025 national survey of almost 500 disability support workers found that 62 percent experienced burnout, and 55 percent had considered leaving the sector within the past year, with workload pressure and low staffing levels identified as primary contributors.
These findings highlight a growing trend. Burnout has increased significantly over the past few years and now affects more than half of all workers in some services.
NDIS Workforce Crisis Statistics
Survey findings from almost 500 disability support workers across Australia (2024-2025)
Data points ordered by severity (highest to lowest percentage)
Data Source
Health Services Union (HSU) NDIS Workforce Crisis Survey, August 2024 – 2025. Survey of 500 disability support workers presented at Parliament House, Canberra. View full report →
This trend underlines the urgent need for organisations to invest in preventative strategies that protect workers and strengthen service delivery.
Understanding Burnout in the NDIS and Child Safety Sectors
Burnout in support services often develops through a mix of emotional, cognitive and physical fatigue. Common signs include:
Emotional exhaustion after managing critical or complex situations
Reduced engagement or declining motivation
Cognitive fatigue caused by heavy documentation requirements
Difficulty managing conflict, participant behaviour or risk
Physical exhaustion from unpredictable rosters or extended shifts
Burnout is rarely caused by personal weakness. It is usually the result of structural pressures within teams and service environments, which means the solutions must also be structural.
Why Providers Must Prioritise Workforce Wellbeing
A workforce experiencing burnout creates operational and compliance risks. Providers often see:
Higher incident rates
Documentation gaps
More complaints from families
Increased turnover and higher reliance on agency workers
Inconsistent support outcomes for participants
Difficulty meeting compliance requirements related to safety and quality standards
Protecting staff wellbeing supports participant outcomes, strengthens compliance and creates more stable service environments.
Five Strategies to Build a Sustainable and Resilient Support Workforce
1. Create Predictable and Fair Rosters
Unpredictable shifts are one of the strongest contributors to stress and fatigue. Support workers often manage irregular hours, last minute changes and uneven distribution of complex clients.
Organisations can improve roster sustainability by:
reducing unnecessary shift changes
limiting long sequences of back to back shifts
ensuring fair distribution of high complexity shifts
using rostering technology that highlights early signs of overwork
Predictable rosters improve workforce stability and reduce burnout risk.
2. Reduce Administrative Load With Smart Digital Tools
Administrative pressure is one of the leading causes of burnout. Shift notes, incident reports and follow up tasks often build up quickly and add stress to already busy shifts.
Providers can support their teams by:
using AI tools that summarise shift notes to reduce cognitive load during reviews
adopting structured templates for clear and consistent documentation
moving away from personal messaging apps and using secure centralised communication
automating routine workflows such as handovers and compliance reminders
These improvements reduce pressure, save time and help support workers focus on direct care.
3. Build a Culture of Psychological Safety
Support workers need to feel safe speaking up about workload, fatigue and difficult experiences. Psychological safety is essential in environments where workers regularly handle complex emotional situations.
Effective practices include:
regular check ins between leaders and staff
open discussions about workload challenges
debriefs after critical or emotionally demanding shifts
prompt action when staff raise concerns or early signs of burnout
A strong culture of trust improves communication and reduces attrition.
4. Provide Training That Strengthens Confidence and Capability
Quality training reduces anxiety and builds confidence. When workers feel capable and supported, burnout risk decreases.
Training that supports wellbeing includes:
trauma informed practice
behaviour support and crisis response
conflict de escalation techniques
emotional regulation and self awareness
digital literacy for efficient documentation
reflective practice skills
Training should empower staff rather than add more pressure to their workload.
5. Use Data to Identify Burnout Risk Early
Providers can use data to detect early warning signs before burnout escalates. Useful indicators include:
repeated overtime patterns
frequent sick leave
increased incident numbers
documentation delays or shortcuts
regular shift handbacks
repeated assignment to high complexity clients
Data driven monitoring allows managers to respond early, offer support and rebalance workloads where needed.
Sustainable Teams Deliver Higher Quality Care
Burnout is a growing challenge in disability and child safety services, but it is not an unavoidable part of support work. With the right systems, supportive leadership and proactive monitoring, organisations can build teams that feel valued, capable and supported.
A sustainable workforce improves participant outcomes, strengthens compliance and reduces operational disruption. Investing in wellbeing is a long term strategy that benefits every part of service delivery.
At Diversity Sync'd, we help providers reduce administrative pressure, simplify compliance and support staff through secure digital tools that improve daily workflows and visibility across shifts.
