A few weeks back I labelled the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) a “bureaucratic nightmare” citing my family’s own personal experience with our 10-year old autistic son.
Despite being diagnosed in the “severe range” of autism spectrum disorder, unable to converse or read, and attending a special school, my son was denied funding for disability services that he previously accessed without a hitch.
My wife has also spent countless hours doing NDIS paperwork, writing letters, attending meetings, phone calls, medical appointments, etc – so much so that it is like having a part-time job, only unpaid.
The decision making processes around NDIS funding also seems to be arbitrary and based on pot luck.
Some children with less severe disabilities than my son have received literally tens-of-thousands of dollars of funding, whereas some children with more severe disabilities have received no funding at all.
For example, one child that we know has severe autism and attends an autistic school, yet was denied entry to the NDIS altogether. Worse, his rejection letter was addressed to him, despite the fact he cannot read or write.
Personal anecdotes aside, the NDIS was recently slammed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for being “slow”, “haphazard”, lacking transparency and being “bloody-minded”.
And yesterday, the federal government announced a 100-member taskforce within the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to protect against NDIS fraud, including by organised crime:
“You come after the NDIS, we will come after you,” Social Services Minister Dan Tehan said in Canberra on Tuesday.
Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor says historically large pots of money like the NDIS have attracted organised crime.
This year the scheme is worth $8 billion but by 2022 that number will reach $22 billion and up to $27 billion in the next decade.
“The truth is whenever someone tries to rip off an important government program like this, they are ripping off the genuine claimants and they are ripping off every Australian taxpayer,” Mr Taylor said.
He said those targeting the system will have nowhere to hide, with authorities using technology and data to track down wrongdoers.
The enormous pot of money on offer under the NDIS was always going to spawn a whole range of middle-men and providers seeking to cash in, leading to significant waste, or worse fraud. We’ve seen this before with the rorting of the private VET sector, rorting of childcare subsidies, and rorting of the Pink Batts Scheme.
The NDIS is also likely to see state governments attempt to cost shift their responsibilities onto the federal government, as we are currently witnessing with school bus services for disabled children.
When the NDIS was first announced, families of the disabled were given assurances they would be no worse-off. I can say from personal experience, and from talking extensively with others in the community, that this certainly has not been the case.
Access to services has been cut, whereas time wasted on bureaucratic processes has ballooned.
The NDIS is great for the middle-men with their fingers in the honeypot, but a disaster for many families of the disabled.
