The explosive growth in the $49 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme is sucking workers out of more efficient industries and risks making Australians poorer unless the care economy become more productive.

A report from e61 Institute think tank is the most comprehensive analysis to date of structural problems the economy is facing from the rapid expansion of the care sector, which now employs 15 per cent of Australia’s workforce – up from 10 per cent in the early 2010s.