Latest / Sarah Knows Support Workers / Thriving in 2026 as a Support Worker | Skills, Tech & Confidence in the NDIS

Transcript

Thriving in 2026 as a Support Worker | Skills, Tech & Confidence in the NDIS · Sarah Knows Support Workers

• 0:00
  Welcome to the podcast, Sarah. No support workers today we are
• 0:03
  going to talk about 2026 because it is banging on our door and we
• 0:06
  need to talk about how we're going to thrive in this current
• 0:10
  climate of the NDIS as support workers.
• 0:12
  So we're going to talk about being smarter, stronger and
• 0:15
  harder to replace in this sector.
• 0:18
  So the NDIS, it is changing, like it's evolving, it is
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  growing and the expectations of being a support worker has
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  changed too. And support workers who adapt
• 0:27
  well, they we're going to thrive and thrive we will.
• 0:30
  So in this episode, I'm going to talk about what it really means
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  to be a support worker in 2026 and the things I would do right
• 0:38
  now to make sure that I was unstoppable.
• 0:41
  So let's talk about it. Let's break it down.
• 0:44
  Why support workers matter more than ever in 2026.
• 0:48
  All right, so in 2000, support workers, Esther, whatever you
• 0:51
  want, whatever you want to be, you call, you boot extra help,
• 0:56
  but we're a little bit different and different than ever before.
• 1:00
  You are the person participants trust, the person who sees
• 1:04
  change first and the reason why plans work well in real life.
• 1:09
  So with tighter funding, more audits, and higher expectations
• 1:14
  than ever before, good support workers, we stand out and the
• 1:20
  average ones will struggle. And that's my shade.
• 1:22
  It's just the reality of it all. So you're probably wondering,
• 1:25
  Sarah, what would it do in 2026 to be completely unstoppable in
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  this sector? All right, I want you guys to
• 1:31
  treat support work like it's a skill, not a favor.
• 1:35
  In 2006, being kind isn't enough anymore.
• 1:38
  I continuously keep learning. Ask better the people that we
• 1:42
  serve, their families, external supports, understand why I do
• 1:47
  what I do and the rationale behind it.
• 1:49
  Professional doesn't mean we have to be cold.
• 1:52
  It just means we're really damn confident in what we're doing.
• 1:55
  So also, we need to lean into this in 2026.
• 1:59
  And it's so more important. Remember, I'm the founder of 60
• 2:01
  Match. Yeah.
• 2:02
  So getting comfortable with tech, you don't need to you
• 2:06
  don't need to love it, but we need to use it in everyday life.
• 2:10
  You need you don't need to be like this.
• 2:12
  IT genius. We just need to keep up.
• 2:15
  And what I would do to keep up is progression notes.
• 2:18
  But you can use ChatGPT and the best way to use ChatGPT in in
• 2:23
  this, I reckon in 2026 is to talk about Hey, ChatGPT, help me
• 2:28
  write the following journal entries or progression notes for
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  so and so. I'd also be using apps like
• 2:34
  Swifty Mats you, but other apps to to work on it in your CRMS
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  communication while online. The way way that we present
• 2:41
  ourselves online in the digital space is incredibly important.
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  So support workers who avoid tech or you know, they've used
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  it in everyday instance of being a support worker, you guys will
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  be left behind 100%. And support workers who are are
• 2:54
  willing to learn and willing to adapt will be in demand because
• 2:59
  the truth is the people that we serve are using the tech.
• 3:02
  So let's roll into the next part because I feel like this is
• 3:04
  incredibly important. Knowing your worth, knowing that
• 3:07
  as a support worker, what you are worth.
• 3:09
  So in 2000, 26 is the fastest way.
• 3:13
  In 2006, burnout is the fastest way to get out of this.
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  And you're in the industry and I don't want that for you.
• 3:19
  So what I would do, I would say no without guilt.
• 3:24
  I would stop over explaining myself.
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  I would protect my energy wherever possible.
• 3:29
  And being reliable doesn't mean that I have to be on call to a
• 3:33
  person that we serve in their family 24/7.
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  You don't have to be available the whole entire time.
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  And as a support worker, you'd like to be known for something.
• 3:44
  I know it's like real warm fuzzy stuff, but we'd like to be known
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  for something. And I wouldn't try to be
• 3:50
  everything in this sector because we know it doesn't work.
• 3:53
  I'd be very clear. I'd be very clear who I best
• 3:57
  support would want. Environments I work really well
• 4:00
  in. Like some people do amazing jobs
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  and I mean it like in the community out and about.
• 4:05
  Some people do absolutely essential jobs in the sealed
• 4:08
  space or a group space. Some people absolutely thrive in
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  one to one. Or could it also be supported
• 4:15
  employment? Whatever floats your boat.
• 4:17
  It's OK to say that you're good at something and you can be more
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  specific about it. The more you can be more
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  specific who you are and more valuable, more value that you
• 4:28
  have All right, so remember why I started.
• 4:30
  I think this is really important to the your why in the story,
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  like why you started in this sector and I will, you know why
• 4:37
  we're here having conversation. I'll explain mine.
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  I started in the disability sector at the age of 19.
• 4:44
  But before that, through my primary and high school life, I
• 4:48
  had always been around kids with disabilities like, and they were
• 4:53
  my friends. We're friends and I think it was
• 4:56
  just a part of who I am, that it just came natural to me.
• 5:00
  And there's also that sense of I do not like an injustice when I
• 5:03
  see 1. And I will tell you so I feel
• 5:07
  like working in this set so just came natural to me because it
• 5:11
  didn't feel like a many different days.
• 5:14
  It's not like a normal day where I know that not everyone has
• 5:17
  that feelings or the understandings of, you know,
• 5:21
  working in the sector. And I get it.
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  But for me it was because it was always, I think it was always
• 5:25
  around me, disability always around me.
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  I never thought anything different of it.
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  So knowing your why and when things get loud, especially like
• 5:34
  with, you know, what's going on at the moment, the cats, the
• 5:37
  paperwork, the pressure is really good that you can come
• 5:40
  back to that. And that's what I do a lot is I
• 5:42
  come back to the why I started in this sector and why, you
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  know, it gives me goosebumps every now and again when I see
• 5:49
  somebody that I have served that's doing a really good job
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  with them. I played a part in a goal that
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  they were overachieved. That is brilliant.
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  And it's it's undeniable that type of warm as the feelings
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  that you get from it. People rely on us people to feel
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  safe because of us. People's lives are better
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  because of us out there building towards that.
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  And it really still matters. And it's really quite deep.
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  So when in doubt, please go back to your why, why you are here.
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  All right, so the big truth, we're going to get into this
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  here. So the big truth about 2026 is
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  support workers who survived 2026 be the busiest, they'll be
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  the cleverest and the clearest on what's going on.
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  They're going to be very clear about what their roles are,
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  their limits and their values and what in lines to them and
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  what makes them feel good and want to get up in the morning to
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  serve the people that we serve, our NDIS participants.
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  And when you're very clear, you are so unstoppable and it's
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  noticeable. So I'm probably going to like,
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  wrap this up with a very strong finish.
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  You ready? We're on the read the fishing
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  line now. Support workers, you're choosing
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  support work in 2026. That tells me something about
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  you. It tells me that you really
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  deeply care about the people that we serve.
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  You're adaptable and you're willing to show up.
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  And the future of the NDIS needs support workers that are exactly
• 7:12
  like that. You're not behind your building
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  and you're doing things better than ever before because we have
• 7:19
  systems in place now. We can do more than ever before.
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  So I would like to thank you guys all for watching today's
• 7:27
  podcast in between with me, Sarah.
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  Thank you guys for now and good luck support workers.