The Actuaries Institute has named Sarah Johnson as Actuary of the Year, hailing her innovative and pioneering work in establishing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Ms Johnson has been Scheme Actuary since the program’s inception in 2013, reporting directly to the NDIS CEO and board.

The former PricewaterhouseCoopers director led the development of an actuarial and sustainability capability in the NDIS, which will expand to an annual spend of $22 billion over the next three years.

Actuaries Institute President Lindsay Smartt says the NDIS is “one of the most important social initiatives” in Australia since Medicare.

“This award recognises Sarah’s major contribution to the success of the NDIS and the introduction of actuarial techniques into a new area,” he said.

“In her pioneering work for the NDIS, Sarah has taken the actuarial profession into a new and exciting area of social policy.”

Before joining the NDIS Ms Johnson spent 10 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, working in the areas of disability and social policy. She helped secure an extra $2 billion in funding for disability in NSW under the Stronger Together 2 initiative.

The award will be presented at a dinner event in Sydney on November 29.