Zero-sum social policy: going gig and the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme

Abstract

Abstract Australia’s newly introduced National Disability Insurance Scheme establishes a cash-for-care model that pits the human rights of people with disabilities against the employment rights of care workers, generating a zero-sum game that sees the emergence of gig labour markets, a downward spiral in wages and conditions, and concerns about quality of care. This article introduces the concept of pro-market/gig market to analyze this state-led initiative to restructure a largely publicly funded and nonprofit workforce into a privatized, casualized, and fragmented one.