Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The National Disability Insurance Agency was established by the previous Labor government to deliver the National Disability Insurance Scheme and deliver real change and improvements in the quality of life of Australian people living with a disability. Labor recognises that people with a disability need to be listened to, need to be empowered and need to control their own lives. To help with this, Labor made Australian Paralympic legend Kurt Fearnley AO chairman of the NDIA and appointed five people with a disability to its board.

We are committed to rebuilding the NDIS. I have seen daily the impact that this scheme has on people. The numbers speak for themselves. During the 2022-23 financial year, 18,103 cases were referred to the minister's office by parliamentarians to help solve complex problems that were stalled in relevant agencies. When members of the community contact my office regarding issues with the NDIS, they are not simple and quick fixes; they have often exhausted all other options and feel at their wit's end. Over the past 18 months I have been dealing with several of these cases.

One of the most heart-wrenching cases I have dealt with relates to the passing of a teenage boy, a NDIS recipient, who lost his life to an aggressive brainstem tumour in 2021. His family have had to endure a horrific battle for bathroom modifications. His family not only had to deal with the trauma of losing a brother, son and grandson; they had to shower at the homes or families and friends, or, even worse, were forced to bathe with a bucket and a garden hose.

The bureaucratic dispute with the NDIS began in the midst of the participant's vast decline. Unfortunately, the clunky and slow system let this family down. The family requested approval for the works in a telephone conversation with a local area coordinator, and submitted occupational therapist reports stating the need for immediate modifications. They believe the request was not passed on to the relevant department, as, after waiting several months, with little return contact from following up with the NDIS, the family felt like they had no choice but to remove the bath and shower screen themselves to allow access for bathing while they waited for official approval. Devastatingly, the participant lost his life before the works were able to be completed, and the family were locked out of the participant portal and any avenues of cost recovery immediately. This grieving family was left to clean up the mess which the system created. At the time of passing, just over $23,000 of funding remained in the NDIS plan and the family were seeking $24,000 for the bathroom rectification to fix the bathroom they had desperately ripped apart to keep their loved one at home, and to be able to shower safely.

The NDIS was put in place to improve the wellbeing of people with disability and their carers, to reduce the longer-term costs of care, to support people and to be compassionate. But, somehow, this seemed to dissipate during the years of cuts and chaos under those opposite, and we are left with the task of trying to rebuild a compassionate and participant focused culture.

The system let my constituent and his family down when they needed help the most over the four short months he was a participant and the long 28 months his family have been trying to reach a resolution. I thank the minister and his staff for meeting with the family in my electorate and doing all they can within the restraints placed upon them. However, the problems within the NDIS need to be resolved to help ensure that this doesn't happen again. Distressed and vulnerable families should not have to fight so hard for basic care and support.

To address cases like these, better support people with disability and improve access to the NDIS, Labor employed 380 additional staff. We have already simplified the process for seeking minor, nonstructural modifications under $20,000, making it faster and easier for participants to access home modifications. To reduce unreasonable delay before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Labor introduced an alternate dispute resolution pilot which resolved 7,000 cases before the tribunal.

We also commissioned a far-reaching review of the NDIS. This review travelled to every state and territory, including regional areas, to hear directly from the community. More than 1,000 people with disability and their families were spoken with and listened to, with more than 2,000 personal stories recorded and almost 4,000 submissions received. The final report of this review was published on 7 December last year. Our government took this report to National Cabinet on 6 December last year. At this meeting, the Commonwealth and all states and territories committed to secure the funding of the NDIS.

Labor is committed to improving the experience of people with a disability and their families. On 17 December last year, the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme announced a crackdown on unfair NDIS pricing. We established a multiagency taskforce comprising the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the NDIA. The NDIA was in a mess when we came to government. As a responsible government, we have taken steps to fix this mess and restore the public's faith in this vital institution. It is a big job and our minister is working hard to fix the mess and the culture within the NDIA. I thank him for his care and compassion in doing so.

Labor plans to make legislative changes to strengthen the NDIS Act and pursue continuous improvement. One of our first acts on coming to government was to establish the Fraud Fusion Taskforce to increase fraud detection and better safeguard the NDIS from organised crime and other fraudsters. We are committed to stopping fraud within the National Disability Insurance Scheme and we are looking to save millions of dollars to protect the funding that supports people living with a disability. The Fraud Fusion Taskforce investigated $1 billion in NDIS payments in its first year of operation. As of 31 October last year, 43 NDIS fraud cases were under investigation, with 18 prosecutions underway. These prosecutions have led to imprisonments and also the banning of some individuals and organisations from delivering NDIS services.

The Labor government is also looking to provide security for NDIS participants to ensure that the provider and worker registrations lead to better outcomes. We have also announced the creation of the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce to overhaul the current registration system for the NDIS. One of the key objectives of that taskforce is to ensure that no-one is invisible or forgotten within the NDIS and that participants within the scheme receive a fair go. The recent review of the NDIS called for greater oversight of those responsible for delivering services through the NDIS and we are determined to ensure that this occurs.

It's good to remind everyone why the NDIS was established. It was established to provide funding to individuals or organisations to help people with disabilities to participate more fully in economic and social life through the provision of an entitlement enabling things such as aid, support equipment, supported accommodation or personal attendant care to be provided.

When Labor was elected, the NDIA was letting participants down and the NDIS was a mess. Labor has employed more staff to reduce processing times and crack down on the rorts and set out to reduce costs and overcharging. Labor have listened to the community and we are determined to deliver a better future for people living with a disability. They deserve it. There have been too many cases in my community where people have been having to fight so hard and for so long to get the services and the support they need. That needs to stop, and we need to rebuild the NDIS.