by Stephanie Peebles
Every time the NDIS appears in the news, the headline is usually the same: “The NDIS costs Australia $50 billion.” That number is often framed as a warning. A burden. A problem to solve. But what if we looked at it another way? What if we said:
The NDIS has created a $50 billion Australian service industry built on purpose. Because that is also true.
The NDIS is not simply government spending disappearing into a void. It is wages, businesses, jobs, training, transport, housing demand, economic participation and independence. It is one of the largest social and economic reforms Australia has ever created, and unlike many industries we subsidise, this one exists specifically to improve people’s lives. That is something worth celebrating.
Before the NDIS began in 2013, much of the disability support system was fragmented, underfunded and heavily reliant on unpaid carers, charity and luck. Today, the NDIS supports more than half a million Australians directly, while also creating opportunities for families, carers, workers and communities right across the country. In the process, it has effectively built an entirely new economic sector.
Today, around 325,000 workers are employed in NDIS-related roles. That includes disability support workers, allied health professionals, plan managers, therapists, drivers, cleaners, administrators, trainers and countless small business operators. The disability workforce has become one of the major engines of employment growth in Australia. In fact, reports in 2024 suggested that almost one in three new jobs created nationally were linked to NDIS-related sectors such as disability support, social care and allied health. That’s extraordinary!
We regularly accept government investment in mining, defence, construction, aviation and manufacturing because we understand those industries create jobs, skills and economic activity. We call that “nation building.” Why, should the NDIS be viewed differently?
The NDIS creates jobs too and not just in big cities. It creates employment in regional towns where people can now find meaningful work locally instead of relocating. It helps diversify local economies and builds more resilient communities. Every provider that opens creates demand for offices, vehicles, fuel, training, technology and housing. Every support worker spends wages in local shops and businesses. Every dollar circulates.
The NDIS has also become an important workforce opportunity for women. Disability support, care and allied health are female-dominated industries, with many roles offering flexible or part-time work arrangements that suit parents, carers and people returning to the workforce. Three in four workers in the sector are part-time or casual.
For many women, especially in regional areas, the NDIS has created employment pathways that simply did not exist before. And then there are carers.
Historically, carers had employment rates around 30 percentage points lower than the national average because caring responsibilities made full-time work difficult or impossible. The NDIS has changed that for many families by providing practical supports that allow carers to return to work, increase their hours or stay connected to employment.
That means more income tax revenue, reduced welfare dependence and greater household spending power. The same is true for participants themselves.
The NDIS was designed not only to provide support, but to increase independence and participation. And the numbers show this is happening. Workforce participation among participants aged 15-24 has more than doubled, rising from 10% to 22%. Half of all parents and carers now report paid employment. More participants are engaging in community activities, and more report having greater choice and control in their lives.
These are not abstract statistics. They represent real people building lives on their own terms. Employment matters because income creates options. It gives people more control over where they live, how they spend their time and what goals they pursue. It builds dignity, confidence and connection.
That applies equally to NDIS participants and to the hundreds of thousands of Australians employed because of the scheme.
Of course, the NDIS costs money. But it is also generating economic activity on a massive scale. Even a rough calculation tells an interesting story. If 325,000 NDIS workers earn an average salary of $75,000 per year, and each pays approximately $15,000 annually in income tax and Medicare contributions, that alone represents close to a $5 billion returned to government revenue every year. And that does not include:
- additional tax paid by carers returning to work,
- participants entering employment,
- increased consumer spending,
- reduced pressure on health systems,
- or the long-term economic benefits of greater independence and social participation.
In other words, the NDIS is not just a cost centre. It is also an economic contributor.
More importantly, it reflects something deeper about who we are as a country. Australia built an industry around the idea that people with disability deserve opportunity, inclusion and support. We created jobs not from extracting resources from the ground, but from investing in human potential. That should make us proud.
There are conversations to be had about sustainability, quality and accountability. Every large system should be scrutinised and improved. But the public conversation cannot only focus on the price tag while ignoring the enormous social and economic return for all Australians.
When we hear “The NDIS costs $50 billion” perhaps the response should be:
“The NDIS has created a $50 billion economic sector employing hundreds of thousands of Australians, driving national job growth, supporting carers back into work, increasing workforce participation for people with disability, and strengthening local communities across the country.”
That sounds less like a burden and much more like nation building.