Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is one of the most important social reforms in Australia's history. It was built on the simple but powerful idea that people with disability deserve dignity, choice and control. But that promise only holds if the scheme is protected. That's what this bill is all about. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026 delivers tough new laws to protect participants and safeguard the scheme from fraud. It is about restoring integrity, it is about enforcing accountability and it is about making it absolutely clear that exploitation has no place in the NDIS.

This bill throws the book at serious misconduct. For the first time, it will be a criminal offence to fail to comply with a banning order, carrying a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. If someone has been banned from the NDIS and chooses to ignore that ban, they should not be working in the sector. This bill ensures they face serious consequences. Similarly, it will become a criminal offence to provide supports that require registration without being registered, with penalties of up to two years imprisonment. This goes directly to participant safety. Unregistered, unqualified operators delivering high-risk supports puts lives at risk, and that must stop.

This bill also substantially increases financial penalties. For the most serious breaches of code of conduct, where misconduct leads to serious injury or death, fines will increase from around $400,000 to more than $15 million. That is a necessary change because, for too long, penalties have been treated as a cost of doing business for those seeking to exploit the system.

This bill also tackles one of the most disgraceful forms of exploitation: misleading and predatory conduct. New antipromotion orders will allow the NDIS commission to crack down on businesses that advertise supports in ways that mislead participants. We have seen examples of marketing that encourages participants to misuse their plans, promotes fake deals or lures people into inappropriate or unsafe arrangements. That behaviour is unacceptable, and under this bill it will be stopped.

The reforms also expand banning order powers. For the first time, the commission will be able to ban not just providers and workers but also auditors, consultants and business advisers. This does close a dangerous loophole, because you cannot have a system where those advising providers are also responsible for assessing them. It is a conflict of interest, and this will respond to that. You cannot have the same actor playing both coach and umpire. This reform restores integrity and independence to the system.

This bill also strengthens whistleblower protections, ensuring people can safely report unsafe or unlawful practices. It enhances the monitoring, compliance and enforcement powers of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

As Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS, I know that the overwhelming majority of providers do the right thing. But it's so important that we continue our work to restore integrity to the scheme. It's why my committee has launched an inquiry to further tackle this issue. We know it's impacting the social licence of the NDIS, and more must be done to ensure Australians continue to have trust in a scheme that delivers so much for people with disability.

In closing, for those who seek to exploit the scheme, this bill sends a clear message. If you defraud the NDIS, if you put participants at risk, if you attempt to profit from vulnerability, you will be caught and you will face serious consequences. The NDIS was never meant to be a 'get rich quick' scheme. It was meant to change lives. This bill ensures it continues to do exactly that.

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