Why this mattered
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) play an increasingly important role in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability. However, policy decisions are often made without access to comprehensive information about community need, service capacity, workforce availability, or the true costs of delivering culturally safe disability services.
To support long-term reform, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) engaged HSSO to provide a comprehensive evidence base that would strengthen policy development, improve data capability, and inform sustainable models of disability service delivery.
Delivered across three integrated phases, the project combined advanced data analytics, sector engagement, workforce intelligence and financial modelling to support evidence-based decision making across the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector.
HSSO’s Role
HSSO partnered with NACCHO to design and deliver a multi-stage program that built both organisational capability and the evidence required to support future disability policy and investment.
The project included:
- development of national and jurisdictional NDIS data dashboards
- delivery of capability-building workshops for policy staff
- design, implementation and analysis of a national ACCHO disability survey
- facilitated consultation workshops with ACCHOs and Affiliates
- development of an evidence-based cost of delivery model for culturally safe disability services
- workforce analysis and policy advice to support future disability system reform.
Rather than delivering isolated pieces of work, each phase informed the next, creating a progressively richer evidence base for policy development.
Phase 1 — Building Data Capability
Effective policy depends on reliable data and the capability to interpret it appropriately.
HSSO developed a suite of interactive national and jurisdictional NDIS dashboards enabling NACCHO and Affiliate policy staff to explore information relating to:
- participant demographics and demand
- market characteristics
- provider activity
- workforce availability
- regional service patterns.
Alongside the dashboards, HSSO designed and delivered practical training that strengthened participants’ ability to:
- navigate complex datasets
- interpret trends appropriately
- apply confidentiality and suppression principles
- understand First Nations data sovereignty
- translate data into practical policy and workforce insights.
Rather than simply providing reporting tools, the project built lasting organisational capability to use data confidently and responsibly.
Phase 2 — National Disability Sector Intelligence
Building on the dashboard capability, HSSO designed and analysed a comprehensive national survey of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to better understand disability service delivery, workforce capability and future priorities.
The survey provided a national picture of:
- disability workforce composition
- allied health shortages
- NDIS service delivery
- workforce development priorities
- unmet demand
- funding pressures
- opportunities for future workforce growth.
Analysis identified significant workforce shortages across allied health, early childhood intervention, psychosocial disability and culturally specific support roles, while also highlighting the critical role ACCHOs play in providing culturally safe disability support and navigation. The project translated these findings into practical workforce recommendations and a staged action plan to support future planning across the sector.
Phase 3 — Cost of Delivery Modelling
The final phase recognised that sustainable service delivery requires more than understanding workforce demand—it also requires understanding the real cost of providing culturally safe services.
HSSO facilitated four national consultation workshops with ACCHO representatives to examine the operational realities of disability service delivery across metropolitan, regional and remote communities.
Insights from these consultations informed the development of an evidence-based cost of delivery model that examined factors affecting service sustainability, including workforce requirements, travel, cultural support, thin markets, community engagement and non-billable activities that are essential to culturally safe service delivery but often not reflected in standard funding arrangements.
The resulting financial modelling provides a robust evidence base to support future policy discussions regarding sustainable funding approaches for Aboriginal Community Controlled disability services.
Project Impact
This project significantly strengthened NACCHO’s ability to use evidence in disability policy and advocacy by combining workforce intelligence, market analysis and financial modelling into a single integrated program.
The project delivered:
- improved organisational capability in analysing complex NDIS datasets
- national evidence on ACCHO disability workforce capacity and service delivery
- practical workforce development recommendations informed by sector evidence
- stronger understanding of disability market gaps and future workforce needs
- an evidence-based financial model supporting future discussions on sustainable service delivery.
Together, these outputs provide an integrated foundation for future disability policy development and workforce planning within the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector.
Why It Matters
The project demonstrates HSSO’s unique capability to combine data science, workforce planning, stakeholder engagement and financial modelling to solve complex policy challenges.
Rather than treating data, consultation and financial analysis as separate activities, HSSO integrated each component into a single evidence framework that supports informed decision making and long-term system reform.
It also demonstrates HSSO’s ability to work with highly sensitive datasets while applying strong governance, confidentiality and First Nations data sovereignty principles throughout the project.
Resources
This project involved confidential NDIS data, sector consultations and financial modelling prepared to support NACCHO’s policy and advocacy activities.
The interactive dashboards, survey dataset, cost of delivery model and associated reports are confidential and are not publicly available.
We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work. We pay our respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders past, present and emerging.