Sam Galvin reckons he has the best job in the world.
The Melbourne disability support worker helps people with acquired brain injury, mental health issues, and those with intellectual disabilities to live their best lives by helping them with daily living tasks and social outings.
"We may take them to gigs, we take them to museums, we take them to sporting events, and we can ensure ... that they don't miss out on wonderful life opportunities and memories," Galvin told SBS News.
But it isn't an easy job. Dealing with complex disabilities without adequate training can take its toll, he says.
"What would you do if you rocked up to work, you get shouted at for a couple of hours ... you've not been given the training for that, and then you get no support or follow up after that," he said.
"And then your pay is pretty, pretty average, comparatively."
Many, he says, have left the industry — and he too has considered it.
"Most people just leave," Galvin said.
"Even if you want to stay in the profession, you probably don't even know what your hours are looking like the week after. So there's just no security there.
"I used to tell people it's the best job in the world, and I still maintain that, if you get the correct training and correct skills, and your work is valued, it is the best job in the world.
"But at the moment, if I said that to some people who work in the disability sector, they would probably just laugh me off."
Galvin isn't the only one in the industry considering quitting.
According to the Health Services Union (HSU), Australia is facing a shortfall of 100,000 disability industry staff, with one in four workers planning to leave the sector because of low pay, inadequate training, and lack of career pathways.
The union says this could have a "catastrophic" impact on the hundreds of thousands of Australians with disabilities, especially with the growth of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
HSU National Secretary Lloyd Williams said disability workers were "severely underpaid" for the challenging work they do.
"These workers are the forgotten allrounders of social support systems that give people living with disabilities the dignified and independent lives they deserve," he said in a statement.
The union is calling for a $5-an-hour pay rise through a new workforce compact that it said would guarantee there would be no additional cost to NDIS participants.
It said disability workers felt "overlooked" by recent pay rises .
Galvin, who was part of a union delegation at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday advocating for the move, said ultimately such proposals would also assist NDIS participants who are not used to workforce churn.
"They don't like having random people turn up to the house, which is happening at the moment, time and time again. And if you have paid good pay, you can retain staff."
