Initiative 7 – Connection and support through professional networks

Thank you to everyone who registered interest to participate in the professional networks pilot program during March to June 2022.

The project aimed to identify and co-design models for professional networks that would complement existing networks and discover how those models might be established and promoted to provide ongoing and sustainable support for workers in the sector.

Professional networks can provide peer mentoring, professional development, and opportunities to collaborate across, and deepen practices within, the sector. Supporting workers who are isolated – either geographically or because they provide individual or in-home care – to connect with learning opportunities and their peers can improve the quality and safety of supports by enabling workers to share specialised knowledge, good practice and facilitate continuous improvement.

We initiated three pilot networks to learn about what works and what does not so that we can build a better understanding of what makes an effective professional network for disability support workers.

If we did not contact you to be involved in a consultation activity on this initiative, there may be opportunities to participate in similar consultations in the future. Please visit engage.dss.gov.au to find out about other consultations available.