10 minutes with… Community Living Australia CEO Mark Kulinski
Mark Kulinski is the chief executive of not-for-profit disability support organisation Community Living Australia. Business Insight spoke to the disability leader about how the sector is changing and the new What’s My Future campaign.
What drew you to the disability space initially?
I never thought I would work in the disability space as it was too close to home as I have a brother with a disability. I fell in love with the sector after working alongside people living with disability while studying at university.
I started my working life as an apprentice mechanic which wasn’t for me then while at university worked as a support worker.
During this time, I was fortunate enough to meet and learn from some wonderful people who inspired my path. From this moment I never looked back. I am grateful to play a role in this rich and rewarding space including as Chief Executive Officer at Community Living Australia.
How is the disability sector changing right now?
The sector is undergoing massive transformation, and I am hoping that in time these changes will be for the better.
The NDIS promised so much but because of poor early management of the scheme and cost blow outs we are seeing those with the strongest voice getting average to good funding while those who are most vulnerable and needing greater support are experiencing cuts to their funding, often leaving them in dangerous and vulnerable situations.
On the positive, I’m seeing through our teams at Community Living Australia, staff are focused on getting to know our clients and understanding what they are asking for through non-verbal cues.
I’m inspired by seeing more people identifying their disability as opposed to hiding it away which is leading to them being seen as valued impactful contributors to our communities and not just seen as charity.
While it’s still early days, I am proud to observe people living with disability who are truly empowered, making their own choices and living their best lives.
What challenges is the sector facing in terms of attracting and retaining workers?
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We are seeing the growth of the disability sector and an ageing population looking to retire. We simply don’t have enough workers to support people’s needs.
This is a critical time for the workforce with a high turn-over of support workers due to the requirement of shorter shifts, the need to work flexible hours and a poor understanding of career pathways.
We also need the government and the NDIS to stop the negative blame-shifting dialogue of service providers ripping off the scheme. All this is achieving is scaring people away from this essential line of work.
There are excellent workers and agencies in the sector who are driven by supporting people and their communities.
How can those challenges be overcome?
We need to communicate the joys and rewards of working with people to achieve their goals and enrich their lives. There are so many lessons we can learn from the people around us.
We can do better at matching availability, skills and interests of worker and people with disabilities and their desires. We can strive to empower people with disabilities and their support staff.
Challenges can be navigated through extensive training for support staff and guidance for these workers when they need to seek advice.
Managers really need to know and understand their staff and what makes them tick. If we all do this then more people will be attracted to work in the sector and won’t move on.
In terms of onboarding of staff into work it takes far too long, by the time it takes to go through all the NDIS required compliance checks and balances they have a job outside of the sector. I think as a society we all could employ more people with disabilities (including the disability sector) as it’s an untapped workforce.
What is the National Workforce Collaboration and what problems is it aiming to solve?
The National Workforce Collaboration is made up of people with disabilities, support workers, service providers, advocates and unions. The aim of the group is to address the support worker shortage in the disability sector. This type of collaboration seldom happens but by having all parties working through the issues together you don’t just fix one problem from one point of view but multiple problems from many points of view. I’ve learnt so much from the collaborative partners.
Tell me about the What’s My Future campaign and what it highlights.
The What’s My Future campaign is promoting why the disability sector is such a great place to work and highlights why support work is so important from a person with a disabilities and support workers point of view.
It also provides valuable links to resources about what type of work support workers may undertake as well as links to training required and support worker retention strategies.
We have identified that adequate training and support along with good wellbeing programs is so important for staff to feel safe and valued.
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Promoting career pathways is also part of the campaign so people understand that a support worker role can be a viable and deeply rewarding career and a starting point to many diverse opportunities. It certainly demonstrates a person’s values to future employees.
How important is industry collaboration at this point to drive change?
The workforce collaboration has brought together a greater focus on what people with disabilities want and need from the support staff. Having support workers and unions at the table gives a better understanding of the pain points for workers and service providers and brings an in-depth understanding of the industrial and government compliance aspect to the challenges
Collaboration across the sector and larger society is the only way that the NDIS with its opportunities and challenges (including workforce) can be addressed.
We’ve focused on some challenges, but what do you see as the major strengths of the disability sector right now?
Many people with disabilities are finding that they have more of a voice and their views are being heard. Society is beginning to value the contributions that those with disabilities can offer.
Increasingly we are seeing more people proudly identifying as having a disability.
I think they feel safer about it and feel valued in their workplace.
Those with disabilities are starting to be more empowered in some ways and my hope is that governments are better understanding and adjusting to what they are saying as well.
How will technology enable and change the sector and its workforce in the future?
Technology is and will be a game changer for the sector.
Most importantly people with disabilities through technologies will gain more independence. We are currently seeing housing design incorporate technology that automates households with auto recognition and electronically opening doors, along with tables, bench tops and cupboards that raise and lower to required heights and lights, blinds and household electronics that are voice activated.
I think we will see technology that will monitor people’s health and provide alerts to support staff. Affordable robotic technology will also cover current and future workforce shortages so in-person support can be directed toward the more social and personable support requirements. Software programs will help organisations be more efficient with back-of-house functions such as rostering, scheduling and payroll to name a few. Participants and staff will have greater access to self-choose what shift people want to work and who you want to support you through technology.
What do you foresee as the impact of AI on the sector?
AI has massive potential as well to reduce the cost of care and address workforce shortages. One AI tool we are working on now is to track and map incidents and near misses across the organisation.
This tool will help address systemic problems quickly as well as identify where we need to target more training and support, currently this is done manually. We are also trialling AI to inform staff quickly at handovers from one shift to the next.
Using AI for documentation of support while on shift has a major impact so staff can spend more time with participants as opposed to reading and writing notes in client time. This will also make it easy to write and understand for staff with English as a second language when using AI to translate.
I also see the potential to use AI to match participant support tasks against their NDIS plans, their funding and staff capacity which will give quicker response times. I’ve heard people using AI to translate documentation etc into easy read so people can easily understand what is written about them or others.
AI is an exciting prospect and will offer many solutions and improve the sector.
