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

The National Disability Insurance Scheme transforms lives. It has given hundreds of thousands of Australians with disability greater independence, greater dignity and greater opportunity. It has supported families, strengthened communities and changed our nation for the better. But the success of the NDIS also means we have a profound responsibility to safeguard it, to protect it from non-compliance, fraud and exploitation, to ensure it remains focused on supporting Australians with permanent and significant disability and to ensure it remains sustainable, providing quality support for future generations. That's what the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and the measures included in the Albanese government's budget are all about.

The bill introduces stricter eligibility, funding controls and new functional capacity assessments to ensure the scheme's sustainability, and there will be further consultation with the disability community and the states and territories to ensure support in the scheme and beyond the scheme. They are fit for purpose and are of high quality.

This bill reflects extensive work undertaken over many years. It draws on recommendations from the independent review into the NDIS, delivered in 2023; the disability royal commission; and the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce, chaired by Natalie Wade. The bill also reflects the concerns that participants, carers, advocates and providers themselves have consistently raised about integrity, sustainability and participant safety.

These issues are at the centre of the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS's current inquiry into the integrity of the scheme. Since the inquiry commenced, we've heard evidence from researchers, disability representative organisations, legal experts, providers and participants from across the nation. We've held hearings in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, and what we have heard has reinforced the importance of getting these reforms right. We have heard about the devastating impact that fraud and noncompliance can have on participants and their families. We have heard about vulnerable people being manipulated, exploited and financially abused. We've heard from providers who are doing the right thing but are frustrated by a system that allows dishonest operators to flourish. And we have heard a clear message that safeguarding participants and safeguarding the scheme must go hand in hand.

When fraud exists in the NDIS, it is participants who suffer first. Every dollar diverted through sharp practices is a dollar taken away from someone who genuinely needs support. Where there is weak oversight and poor integrity, there is often greater risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation. This is why this bill matters, and it's why the Albanese government has backed these reforms with substantial investment in the budget.

Our government is a reforming government. We're not sitting on our hands like the former coalition government. Under the coalition there was a clear lack of oversight, giving fraudsters the opportunity to infiltrate the provider market and steal from the NDIS and, as a result, from people with disability. Under the coalition NDIS claims were barely checked for compliance. In 2020 there were fewer than 30 employees within the NDIA directly working on fraud and integrity activities. The system had serious blind spots. Claims submitted between 4.30 and 6 pm on a weekday couldn't be reviewed before they were paid, nor could claims made every second weekend. This is outrageous. But now we've fixed it. As a direct result of the Albanese government's actions, all claims are now visible in the system and can be analysed prior to payment. And we've established the Fraud Fusion Taskforce to tackle noncompliance and enable prosecutions. That's meaningful action. And with this bill and the measures in our budget, we're going even further.

The budget includes more than $1.35 billion in measures to combat fraud, improve integrity and strengthen the administration of the scheme. This includes more than $358 million over five years to establish a new enrolment and digital payment system that will further improve payment integrity and reduce fraudulent and noncompliant claims. It includes $280.1 million to continue the Fraud Fusion Taskforce and strengthen the NDIA's ability to detect and respond to fraud. It includes $182.6 million to introduce mandatory registration for high-risk providers. There's also the $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund, to rebuild community organisation capability to host genuine participation activities. And it includes additional investment in reform plan management and support coordination services to improve quality and reduce integrity risks. These are serious reforms because the challenges facing the scheme are serious, but we know there's much more to do.

The NDIS now administers more than $50 billion in public funding each year. The Fraud Fusion Taskforce has identified significant vulnerabilities within the scheme, and this cannot be ignored. Schedule 2 of this bill directly addresses these integrity concerns. It strengthens the NDIA's monitoring, investigative and enforcement powers by enabling provisions of the regulatory powers act 2014 to apply to the agency, it introduces new civil penalties to deter unlawful conduct and strengthen compliance, it improves information-gathering powers and introduces stronger record-retention obligations and it ensures claims must be made within 90 days of supports being delivered. These changes are practical, necessary and long overdue.

This bill also reforms provider registration. Currently, only a small proportion of providers are formally registered, despite the scale of public funding flowing through the scheme. The current definition of 'NDIS provider' is broad and can create confusion. The bill clarifies this while strengthening registration for higher risk providers. Importantly, these reforms will not only improve integrity but also improve participant safety and service quality.

The legislation also addresses longstanding concerns within the plan management and support coordination markets. Over recent years, multiple reviews have identified inconsistent standards, conflicts of interest and poor oversight in parts of these sectors. Frankly, participants deserve better. This bill enables the establishment of approved panels of plan managers and the commissioning of preferred quality support coordination services. These reforms will strengthen governance, reduce conflicts of interest and ensure participants receive high-quality, trustworthy support.

Schedule 1 of the bill addresses broader issues relating to access, eligibility and plan management. The reforms contained in this bill seek to restore greater clarity and consistency. The legislation clarifies the meaning of functional capacity and establishes the basis for more transparent and evidence based assessments of eligibility. Importantly, the bill recognises that further consultation and expert advice are required before thresholds are determined. That work will involve technical experts, the disability community and state and territory governments, who have to play a stronger role in providing supports for people with disability.

The bill also addresses unscheduled plan reassessments, which have become a major driver of expenditure growth. Currently, about one in five participant plans undergoes an unscheduled reassessment every year. Many of these reassessments result in substantial increases in plan value. In some cases, reassessment requests are initiated by intermediaries without the participant's knowledge or understanding. The reforms ensure unscheduled reassessments occur where there has been a significant and ongoing change in a participant's circumstances or support needs. This is about ensuring reassessments are participant driven, transparent and appropriately targeted.

The bill also strengthens the connection between funded supports and the impairments that meet eligibility criteria under the scheme. This is intended to ensure NDIS funding remains focused on disability related supports that are consistent with the scheme's purpose.

Another important reform relates to plan renewals. At present, many plans are repeatedly rolled over, with unspent funds carried forward year after year. Over time, this can inflate plan values well beyond what was originally considered reasonable and necessary. Under this legislation, all participant plans will have a defined end date. Renewed plans will continue to provide ongoing support while ensuring funding remains aligned with current circumstances and needs.

The bill also clarifies the concept of reasonable and necessary supports. This principle sits at the heart of the NDIS, but over time interpretations have broadened significantly, contributing to cost pressures and inconsistencies across the scheme. These reforms seek to provide greater clarity around what is reasonable for the NDIS to fund, while considering sustainability, value for money and consistency across government support systems. The legislation also clarifies the meaning of permanence. This bill makes clear that appropriate treatment options should be pursued before any impairment is considered permanent for the purpose of scheme access. These are sensitive reforms. They affect people's lives and they must be implemented carefully and compassionately. But we cannot ignore the challenges facing the scheme. If the scheme becomes unsustainable, it's participants who will suffer the most.

This legislation includes governance reforms in schedule 3. The bill enables a clearer and more transparent pricing framework by making the minister the decision-maker on pricing, following advice from the agency's annual pricing review. It also strengthens protections against overcharging and introduces safeguards around administrative decision-making. Schedules 4 and 5 deal with operational and transitional matters to support implementation of the reforms.

The NDIS is one of Australia's great social achievements and one of Labor's great social achievements. It was built through decades of advocacy from Australians with disability and their families and carers, and so much of that advocacy came from the disability community in my region. I remember standing alongside former prime minister Julia Gillard and Bill Shorten, in 2013, when she announced that Geelong would become the national headquarters of DisabilityCare Australia, now the National Disability Insurance Agency. It was an enormously significant moment for our region. I still remember the excitement in the room when Prime Minister Gillard told our community, 'You deserve it.' The decision recognised not only the capacity of our region but also the values of a community that has always understood the importance of fairness, opportunity and looking after one another.

The establishment of the NDIA headquarters in Geelong brought hundreds of skilled jobs to our region, but, more than that, it embedded the NDIS into the identity of our broader community. Across Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Bellarine, people understand what the NDIS represents because they have seen firsthand the difference it makes to people's lives. They've seen families finally receive support after years of struggle. They have seen carers receive support that allows them to participate fully in work and community life. They have seen a major national institution be built in regional Victoria, creating secure jobs and attracting expertise that continue to strengthen the region today. This is why a discussion about the future of the NDIS is never abstract for communities like mine. People understand both the human importance of the scheme and the responsibility we have to protect it. It does transform lives, and Australians rightly expect it to endure and to be embedded in our health system, just like Medicare is. But enduring institutions require stewardship, and that was absent under the former coalition government.

This bill is about ensuring the NDIS remains strong, sustainable and participant focused into the future. We know participants want a scheme that is fair. They want a scheme that is safe. They want a scheme that delivers quality supports, and they want a scheme that will still be there for future generations. This is exactly what this legislation seeks to secure. (Time expired)

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