More than half the staff at The Benevolent Society's Wollongong office will lose their jobs by the end of the month - and the remaining staff will have to stretch themselves across twice the geographical area as the Nowra office closes for good.
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Shane Elliott, regional organiser of the Community and Public Sector Union NSW, said 25 staff would finish up at the Wollongong office - based at the University of Wollongong's Innovation campus - next Friday.
Just 17 staff would remain.
Most of the Nowra staff had already left, Mr Elliott said, after The Benevolent Society announced in May that that office would merge with Wollongong.
He said the cuts were widespread, with Benevolent Society staff to reduce from 900 to 200 across NSW and the ACT.
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The charity has said the job cuts and office mergers were necessary to ensure it continued to "meet community demand" and be "financially sustainable" under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The Benevolent Society was one provider which took over disability services from the NSW Government in 2017 as part of the transition to the NDIS, with its staff forced to transfer to the non-government sector.
"Their employment was privatised and transferred from the Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) to The Benevolent Society," Mr Elliott said.
"At the time our members very real concerns were dismissed and diminished with accusations of 'dark imaginings' from the state government.
"Yet here we are, less than two years later, The Benevolent Society confirming that the current financial situation is not sustainable and professional and experienced disability staff being made redundant."
Mr Elliott said many staff - some with more than 30 years experience - were being sent off with "inferior redundancy packages". Those leaving included case managers, therapy assistants, nurses and administration staff.
Some were being invited to apply for "near exact jobs but with different titles and lesser wages and conditions".
"The loss of the corporate knowledge alone can only see the sector continue to struggle at a time when more, not less, resources are needed," he said.
"The NDIS was meant to be a universal system, much like Medicare. However we're ending up with an insurance scheme dedicated to deregulation, finding efficiencies and driving down the wages and conditions of staff looking after the most vulnerable people in society."
A Benevolent Society spokesperson said the Illawarra office would become the primary hub for services in Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Nowra.
"We are changing our business model to enable our service to be fit for purpose and demand. Also to ensure our clients continue to get the best of care with our mobile teams across the region," the spokesperson said.
"Our clients have been contacted and for some there will be minimal changes to their service.
"If there is a change we have communicated this with each of them and we are working with them to ensure there is a continuity of care."
