The opposition NDIS spokesman wouldn't put a figure on what workers should be paid, but said it wasn't "good enough" that people tasked with caring for Australians with a disability were on just $20-$23 per hour.

The former opposition leader's comments came as a parliamentary committee examining the NDIS workforce said there might be "merit" in the Fair Work Commission considering an application to raise wages for support workers - just as it is in aged care.

Mr Shorten joined Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil, disability advocates and service providers in Parliament House on Tuesday to lash the Morrison government's management of the pandemic for people with a disability.

Ms O'Neil listed shortages of personal protective equipment [PPE] and rapid antigen tests [RATs], and the lack of a surge workforce to fill shifts left by COVID-stricken staff as features of the "urgent crisis".

People with Disability Australia president Sam Connor said the cohort most at-risk through the pandemic had been left behind.

Mr Shorten was even more damning in his criticism of the government, describing its response as "dangerously incompetent".

"There is a pathology of disregard for the lives of people with disability, which no amount of government propaganda can cover up," he said.

In a statement responding to Mr Shorten's criticisms, acting NDIS Minister Anne Ruston said the government had delivered more than 1.4 million rapid tests to the sector, poured in extra funding to ensure providers could afford protective equipment and prioritised vaccines for scheme participants.

"Whether it's Mr Shorten or his leader Anthony Albanese, all we hear from Labor is criticism and political point scoring rather than ideas and policies," Senator Ruston said.

The Morrison government last year released a workforce strategy to cater for the scheme's rapid growth. The plan, published last June, predicted an extra 83,000 workers would be needed to by 2024.

Mr Shorten could soon be the minister responsible for the NDIS if Labor wins the looming election, which would put him in charge of supporting the disability community through a potential surge in cases through winter.

Asked to list three immediate steps which an Albanese government would take to address issues in the sector, Mr Shorten said: "We've got to get the RATs, we've got to get the PPE and we've got to make sure there is a replacement workforce".

Beyond that, he said there needed to be a "long conversation" about how disability support workers were treated, including their rate of pay.

"I won't put a dollar value on that [what the pay rate should be] - I'm going to let the unions and the service providers and Fair Work Commission work through that," he said.

"But I'm not stupid, I understand that the current wage is too low".

Mr Shorten said disability workers were undervalued, arguing they contributed not only physical labor but "mental ... and emotional" labor as well.

The Fair Work Commission is currently considering a unions-led push for a 25 per cent pay rise for aged care workers.

Labor would make a submission to the commission in support of a pay rise if it won the election.

In a report published on Tuesday, parliament's NDIS committee said although there were significant differences in the types of work undertaken in the two sectors, there might be "merit" in the independent wage umpire considering an application to raise disability worker wages to ensure they reflected "the value of the work".

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