Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In continuation from my remarks that were cut short last night, the coalition will be supporting this bill, but the member for Lindsay has put forward an amendment to outline some of the concerns that we have around the stewardship of the NDIS.

It is one of the great reforms that we've had in recent years, and there are so many within the communities represented in this place who benefit greatly from the NDIS. Unfortunately, we have had rather large growth in the scheme, to the point where it is on an unsustainable footing. We've now got annual scheme expenses growth sitting at 10.3 per cent. This legislation, which seeks to tighten up the system—lift up the hood and tinker with its engine—is welcome, but the coalition feels that more needs to be done in order to safeguard the scheme, make sure that it is helping those that it is designed to assist and make sure that the fraud and rorting that we have seen within the scheme is stamped out for good.

Of course, we have to maintain vigilance. It's not set and forget when it comes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. There will have to be reforms as we move along with the scheme's growth. It is reaching that point of maturity now. It's into its 13th year. It's a bit like a 13-year-old teenager. It's reaching that point in its life where it's deciding where it's going to go—whether it's going to be a bit of a free-for-all, Wild West sort of scenario where we see a lot of rorting or whether it's going to become some sort of bureaucratic maze that's soulless and tramples those that it's supposed to assist. Of course, we want to try to find that middle way, and I know the government is intending to do that as well.

When we've got scheme growth of 10.3 per cent and we've now got a National Cabinet target of five to six per cent, we've got to somehow find our way to getting that growth trajectory down to the target. And five to six per cent is still, by the nature of any government scheme, significant growth. So we want to see some real reform. This is relatively minor legislative tinkering. Unfortunately, an issue that a lot of my colleagues are highlighting with the NDIS is that, while we're seeing initiatives like Thriving Kids—which hopefully will kick off this year; it's been delayed a little bit, and obviously this will be a scheme that ramps up as we head towards 2028. Thriving Kids is an initiative that is seeking to put downward pressure on the growth of the NDIS. We're also seeing increased interest in cracking down on fraud, which is greatly welcome. But what a lot of my colleagues are seeing, and what I'm certainly seeing in relation to about 80 per cent of the casework that comes to my electorate office, is NDIS participants having their plans cut.

I'll give you one example. A constituent of mine, who lives only a stone's throw from my house, is unfortunately suffering from early onset dementia. She's in a position where she's in her early 60s and has a husband who's taking incredible care of her. She requires around-the-clock support because of the nature of her condition. She's reached the point where, every night, there are choking hazards and concerns about whether she'll make it through the evening. She requires around-the-clock support. She has a NDIS package which was providing that for her, and without any fanfare she had her plan cut by 43 per cent. That means a lot to her and her husband when it comes to the quality of life that they can enjoy. The safety and her longevity is of great concern, and unfortunately they've now reached the point where she's had to be admitted to a local hospital as a social admission.

That shouldn't be where we get to, and we don't want to see a point where a scheme that is designed to assist people like this constituent of mine has to make those sorts of clandestine cuts, if you like. I'm not saying that the government's got a specific policy of cutting care to those that actually need it. But that's ultimately the outcome if we have poor stewardship of the scheme and if we have inconsistent results like the ones we're getting through the NDIS. I have another example relating to biologically identical twin boys in my electorate. Both of them suffer from the same condition. Both of them put in an application for the NDIS and had completely different outcomes, even though it was the same experts providing their recommendations and diagnoses. Their applications were submitted on the exact same day, at the exact same minute, and they had completely different outcomes.

We shouldn't have a scheme of this level of maturity, into its 13th year, that is achieving those sorts of inconsistent outcomes. We're now seeing the government focusing on the introduction of the I-CAN tool, which will be—I don't want to misrepresent it—a digitised assessment tool that people are hoping will lead to greater consistency in decisions. That's a good thing, but there's a lot of concern from stakeholders within the NDIS. They are worried about whether a machine will be able to deliver the right outcomes for people and be able to assess the individual needs of people who need support through the NDIS. So the opposition is keeping a close eye on that. What we want to see the government truly focus on is fixing waste, red tape and fraud in the system. Unfortunately, this bill only goes part of the way to achieving that.

This bill introduces a range of new civil penalties and inserts definitions for criminal offences, such as serious contravention, significant failure and systemic pattern of conduct to support higher criminal penalties. It strengthens provisions for failure to comply with a banning order to include criminal penalties. It introduces a new regulatory framework for monitoring the provisions of the act and includes powers of entry and inspection, which are welcome. It introduces anti-promotion orders and provides new power to the commissioner to restrict providers from promoting products i.e. holidays, flights and cruises—which we've seen quite a bit of and quite a lot of media coverage of those sorts of promotions, which are not allowed under the scheme—including unfair terms of sale and increases the categories for banning orders. These are all incredibly welcome. The coalition supports them.

It also amends the commission's powers to request information from providers and other persons to be shorter than the existing minimum timeframes and introduces the ability for the commission to issue evidentiary certificates for use in civil and criminal proceedings. It introduces a 90-day cooling-off period, and I think this is actually one of the better elements of this bill. Many of our constituents have had the sort of frustration with the NDIS where they might want to exit the scheme, only to work out—after a cooling-off period or when they're a little bit further down from that moment of disappointment—that that wasn't the right decision for them. So a 90-day cooling-off period is a very sensible change.

These are all very sensible elements. They're great—but they're not great enough. We need to really get serious about how we are going to get this scheme down to a sustainable footing. We firmly think that fraud needs to be the first target. Second, we should be looking at red-tape reduction as well. I hear stories from participants, from providers, from families and even from external experts such as doctors and paediatricians about the amount of forms that they've got to fill out that are never going to be read.

I'd love to get an analysis done of the amount of time wasted across this country by people who are charging, at a great rate per hour, to write forms that are never read and are of limited value, particularly when asking for forms from people who have a degenerative disease or a condition that they're never going to be able to recover from—to have to go to a medical professional and get a certificate to say, as in the instance of the constituent I talked about earlier with early-onset dementia, 'Yes, she still has early-onset dementia. It's not going to get better.' These are the areas of concern that we see. If the government had a proactive approach to tackling red tape within the scheme, you'd be saving a lot more and be able to put a lid on the growth of the NDIS. It would save a lot of time and money for providers, for participants and for the taxpayer.

The government has done the right thing in setting up the Fraud Fusion Taskforce. However, they did report to Senate estimates a few weeks ago that they think that up to 10 per cent of NDIS claims are inappropriate, mischievous or outright criminal. That should be setting off alarm bells across the system. This bill will assist in tackling some of that. But when you've got 10 per cent of a $50 billion scheme that is potentially—what were the words—inappropriate, mischievous or outright criminal, the government needs to get very serious about this very quickly. As an opposition, we're going to be encouraging the government to do that. But we will be supporting the bill. I think the amendment from the member for Lindsay is entirely appropriate and sums up where the coalition thinks the government should be heading in this important area of public policy.

Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is a vital part of Australia's social support system. It provides Australians with permanent disability with the supports they need in order to live a fulfilling life. The NDIS was something that had been campaigned about for years by people with disability, their carers, families and the sector. It was a Labor government who answered that call, giving people with disability the choice and control they had called for. The Albanese Labor government is committed to maintaining that promise. I regularly speak to constituents who rely on NDIS funding for themselves or a family member. It is a part of our Australian way of life—that we as a community provide support to each other according to need.

The NDIS was established by a Labor government in 2013. However, it was the coalition government that oversaw the initial period of the NDIS's implementation. Unfortunately, that led to 10 years of systemic and systematic failures. In 2022, when the Albanese Labor government was elected and inherited the coalition chaos, the NDIS had been growing by 22 per cent year on year. That is simply unsustainable. Since being elected to government, we have sought to make the NDIS better, more reliable and more accessible to its participants and to make it fit for purpose for the long term—effective, safe, ethical and sustainable.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026 is the result of much consultation with people with disability, peak bodies and other stakeholders, and it will go some way to rectifying those 10 years. Whether it's the exploitation of participants or the mishandling—or worse—of government funds, the NDIS requires new laws to be able to tackle these underlying challenges. The Australian National Audit Office is categorical on this point. The previous, coalition government failed in their duty to ensure the appropriate prevention mechanisms for fraud and noncompliance, and, where there is fraud and noncompliance in this area, we know there is often violence, abuse and neglect.

Participants are not benefiting to the full extent of their NDIS packages. The Albanese Labor government made it our immediate objective to protect those with a disability to ensure that the NDIS works for, not against, its participants. We invested more than $550 million in fraud and non-compliance prevention schemes, including the Fraud Fusion Taskforce, which has led to major criminal convictions. Today, more claims are being reviewed every day under this government than were reviewed in an entire year under the previous, coalition government—another example of absolute neglect.

With this bill, the Albanese Labor government continues our tradition of insisting that NDIS participants receive the care that they need and that they deserve, and the bill entrenches a stronger penalty framework that will include a new 'aggravated' category of contravention where failures have led to serious injury or even death. Under this category, individuals responsible can be fined up to $3.3 million and corporations up to $16.5 million. The stronger penalty framework will also mean higher criminal penalties for those operating unregistered where it's mandatory and failing to comply with a banning order or for providers that seek to operate under a different trading name or fabricate service agreements and invoices in order to avoid detection. Under these changes, this type of criminal behaviour will not be tolerated. It is not only illegal; it is dangerous and unsafe.

Currently, the highest fine for failing to register is up to $400,000. With these changes, failure to register can result in up to two years jail time and fines of up to $16½ million. Currently, those who attempt to skirt a banning order can face a criminal penalty of around $1.6 million. With these changes, those who attempt to skirt a banning order could see up to five years of jail time. Banning orders will also now be expanded to cover consultants and auditors to further protect participant safety and prevent future harm.

The Albanese Labor government recognises that, sadly, higher criminal penalties are required in order to deter criminal behaviour in the NDIS system. Under these new laws, criminal operations within the NDIS will not be let off lightly. The bill will also introduce new antipromotion orders to curb false advertisements that go against the basic principles and values of NDIS—false advertising in the way of suggesting that daily goods and services are NDIS funded when they are not, such as suggesting that holidays and entertainment can be claimed under the NDIS when it cannot or suggesting that certain supports can be claimed under the NDIS where the individual's plan might not warrant them. Under these changes, the NDIS commission will be given powers to intervene, and information-gathering powers will be strengthened so they can demand documents and information from providers within shorter timeframes where there is risk of injury, harm or death of a participant.

The bill also includes an amendment that will enshrine a participant's right to retract their decision to cancel their plan within a 90-day cooling-off period. The decision to opt out of the NDIS is a serious one and can be difficult to unwind down the track. The change to 90 days of cooling off means the participant has more time to give additional consideration and will avoid causing undue stress to the participant as a result of a decision they may later regret.

The bill also includes an amendment that will enshrine a participant's right to determine the manner in which claims are lodged, whether physically or electronically, streamlining the application process, and it includes an amendment that will enshrine a participant's right to know that their plan variation may lead to funding increases or decreases.

The NDIS integrity safeguarding bill is not about sidelining or demonising providers or workers. The overwhelming majority of providers do good work and go about their work with integrity. The bill is not about undercutting or restricting the ability of providers to do this good work. Providers are crucial to the NDIS's operations. This bill is about targeting the few who would seek a financial advantage where a fellow Australian is reaching out for a helping hand, targeting those who would brazenly take that hand all the while thinking how they may best gain unscrupulously from the relationship. The way of NDIS is about creating a fair, safe, sustainable system that serves the interests of its participants.

The bill does three things. It ensures that fraud and non-compliance are stamped out, and, to this end, ensures the NDIS develops a culture of compliance. It ensures that NDIS lives up to the values of its original charter, and, most importantly, it ensures that participants are protected when all that they and their families and carers are trying to do is navigate their care and live dignified and rewarding lives. I commend the bill to the House.

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government was elected with the Prime Minister repeating his mantra: 'Nobody held back. Nobody left behind'. Yet here we are, being left behind in regional Australia. Labor's promise is ringing increasingly hollow. Nowhere is Labor's scorched earth approach to regional Australia more evident than in their administration of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, very sadly.

There is no doubt the NDIS has been a nationally transformational reform for Australians living with significant and permanent disability. It has enabled greater dignity, independence and choice. But the success of the scheme depends on public confidence in its sustainability, its governance and its integrity. On those measures, this government is falling short. Labor has struggled to improve fiscal sustainability without undermining service quality or participant trust.

In regional Australia that failure is being felt most acutely. I regularly hear from constituents across my electorate of Mallee about their experience with the NDIS. More often than not, they are seeking advocacy after being overwhelmed by a system that feels remote, inconsistent and unresponsive and that, frankly, does not work. Participants and families come to me distressed not simply because of funding outcomes but because of how decisions are made and how long they take to be made. Names have been changed to protect privacy, but the experiences are all too real.

These changes come at a time when allied health access in regional Australia is already under strain. Labor's changes to travel payments for health professionals have made it harder for providers to service regional clients, and that was before fuel prices surged. Allied health professionals are already withdrawing services they can no longer afford to deliver. Without providers, NDIS plans are meaningless. Access on paper is not access in practice.

Regarding the bill at hand, the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026, it purports to strengthen integrity and safeguarding, but it avoids the most obvious integrity failures in the system. The government has been unable to clearly quantify the scale of fraud in the NDIS. The bill introduces no direct regulation of the 94 per cent of providers who remain unregistered, and while it moves toward fully electronic claiming, it provides insufficient safeguards for vulnerable participants who face real digital barriers, particularly in regional and remote communities. If electronic systems are expanded, they must come with human oversight, alternative access pathways and clear enforceable rights of appeal. This bill does not provide that assurance. This legislation is titled the Integrity and Safeguarding bill, yet for too many participants, especially in regional Australia, it delivers neither.

People with disability are not data points. Their lives cannot be flattened into computer generated budgets and automated decisions. Integrity is not achieved by centralising power and removing accountability. Safeguarding is not achieved by forcing vulnerable people to navigate opaque systems simply to access the supports they need. A sustainable NDIS depends on trust, trust that decisions are fair, transparent and grounded in real understanding of disability and place. This bill fails that test. The coalition supports an NDIS that is compassionate, accountable and sustainable, one that respects professional expertise and puts people before processes. That is not the NDIS being delivered by the Albanese government.

Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026. I joined the Labor Party at the age of 15 because I grew up around people whose lives were pretty difficult or who ended up in very difficult situations, including with a disability, through no fault of their own. I saw and lived around people who saw how important it was to look out for each other, especially for those who are vulnerable and especially those who are at risk of being left behind. As a result, I vehemently believe in equality, social justice, care and community.

There's a reason I mention this. It's because these values are a part of the Labor government. It's a Labor government that shares these values that has introduced this bill to provide responsible support for vulnerable people—in this case, people with a disability. It's no surprise that the National Disability Insurance Scheme is a proud Labor legacy that was introduced by former prime minister Julia Gillard. It was developed after years of calls for reform to the disability support sector from people with a disability, community organisations and advocates. It was built on the premise that people with a disability all have different goals and support needs and should be able to control and select the support that they require. It was launched back in 2013, quite a while ago now, but was in operation nationally by 2020.

An important part of the scheme was guaranteed long-term funding for disability services. That was part of the rationale behind NDIS. It was jointly paid for by the Australian state and territory governments. This scheme provides funding to eligible people with disability so that they can gain more time with family and friends, have greater independence and might be able to access new skills, get a job, volunteer in their community and have improved quality of life. It really just connects anyone with a disability to people in their community. It enables people to live the life they want with dignity and purpose.

The NDIS supports over half a million Australians with a disability. This includes David's 18-year-old son, who lives in my electorate. The son has a very complex disability and he works and contributes in our community through employment support. He loves his job and, importantly, it gives him purpose and provides some comfort to his parents, who want him to lead the best life he can as he relies on the NDIS.

Australians are rightly proud of the life-changing support of the NDIS to people with disability. But, as we've heard, it is not working the way it should. When Labor came to government in 2022, spending on the NDIS was growing at 22 per cent a year. That's not sustainable. The Audit Office found that the system set-up lacked basic prevention controls for fraud and noncompliance. I want to be clear that the majority of people who work in this sector are good people and they act in the best interests of Rob, another NDIS recipient I know. But we also know that that doesn't happen 100 per cent of the time. So our government acted quickly, investing over $550 million in tackling fraud and noncompliance, including setting up the Fraud Fusion Taskforce and making amendments to the act. Now more claims are reviewed every single day than were reviewed in a year under the previous government.

Unfortunately, when we see fraud, too often we also see violence, abuse and neglect, and this is simply unacceptable. This bill is about cleaning up the sector and protecting the people it was meant for, with changes to the penalty framework, banning orders, promotion orders, plan variation protections et cetera. The National Disability Insurance Scheme has had its difficulties, but it must be safe and it must operate with integrity. Those who defraud the NDIS are exploiting not just the hundreds of thousands who rely on the life-changing support that NDIS delivers but their families. We know that, under the previous government, there were just too many players that saw the NDIS not as a disability support service but as a get-rich-quick scheme. That's appalling. It is improving, but more needs to be done.

I really do want to thank the disability community for their insights in helping shape the many reforms that are being introduced, but I equally look forward to ongoing discussions with them and with those in my community who use the NDIS every day. We need to continuously look at how to make it better, and through this bill we are putting in place the necessary changes to ensure stability and integrity to the scheme.

Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition will be supporting the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026. We are supporters of the NDIS. It is something that provides support and assistance for some of the most vulnerable people across our communities, and I have spoken to the NDIS quite a number of times in relation to a number of constituents who have made representations to my office.

One of the things that we have the opportunity to do, as members of parliament, is attend end-of-year school events. I recently had the opportunity to attend a school event at Varsity College in my electorate. I had a mother come up to me at the end of that ceremony. She wanted to introduce me to her son. Her son was 12 years old at the time, and his name is Levi. Levi has cerebral palsy. His mother had contacted our office to seek assistance on their NDIS matter, as they'd had significant difficulties in obtaining clear information from the NDIS. He hadn't had an updated plan in nearly five years, and he required critical support.

After we managed to take on that matter and make a representation to the NDIS, we were able to obtain a favourable outcome for Levi—which was great. But most Australians shouldn't have to go through their federal MP in order to do that. That should be part of how the system works. It's symptomatic of a broader issue with the NDIS. I think just about every person in this chamber would agree that the NDIS—like I said, its intention is really good; we just need to make sure it actually delivers for the people who need it. That is the key thing. The coalition will always support measures which improve the integrity of the NDIS and ensure that there are safeguards in place to protect the participants involved in it, while at the same time prevent the fraud and rorting that, as we know, is rife within the scheme.

I do note, however, that the changes in this bill don't actually provide direct regulation or fraud controls for the 94 per cent of NDIS providers who are not registered. We are constantly, as federal members of parliament, receiving reports in our offices about NDIS participants who are seeking quotes for basic services around the home, whether it's for cleaning or for gardening or whatever, and they are quoted prices that are absolutely extraordinary. They are quoted prices that we would never see outside the NDIS. This happens the moment they say that they want to use their NDIS plan to pay for the work. When they do that, the cost of the service doubles, triples, quadruples.

That is symptomatic of certain people out there—it's not all providers; I have some fantastic providers in my electorate—who are using the NDIS as nothing more than a cash cow. This is something that government needs to step up on, because, at the end of the day, the NDIS is being used for people who have a genuine need, but there are billions and billions of dollars of taxpayer money that are funding it. We need to make sure, and it is the responsibility of every person in this place to make sure, that when we are using taxpayer money that we are using it in a way that maximises its potential for the benefit of those who need the assistance. That's the main point that I would make.

There are many, many examples that I could provide in relation to people who've approached my office, people who have that genuine need that I speak of, who shouldn't need to engage with a federal MP, who should be able to go through the regular process of the NDIS. There is no shortage of bureaucracy in it, there is no shortage of assistance there that should be able to be afforded. There are many examples across my electorate. People are saying, 'We recognise this is a system that was set up for the right reasons, and we just need to make sure that this government is taking very seriously the fraud that we are seeing', and I've spoken about that fraud many times in this place. We need to ensure we have a system of integrity, a system that Australians can be proud of and a system that ultimately delivers for the people who have that genuine need.

Carol Berry (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026 as someone who worked alongside people with disability in various roles for over 15 years before I became a member of parliament. I'm therefore particularly passionate about upholding and promoting the rights and interests of people with disability.

At the start of my working life, I worked as a human rights lawyer for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. In that role, I worked alongside people with disability to have their rights upheld through the courts and by promoting systemic law and policy reform. I later became the CEO of the New South Wales Council for Intellectual Disability, where I advocated for people with intellectual disability and their families to be able to get access to better supports and services. The job I had immediately before I became a parliamentarian was CEO of the Disability Trust, which is one of the largest providers of disability services in Australia and has been so for over 50 years. We worked hard to ensure that we supported people to fulfil their dreams and aspirations. So I worked alongside people with disability for many years before the NDIS was introduced and I saw firsthand how sorely it was needed.

It's been amazing to watch the difference that the NDIS has made to Australian society. It's a world-leading scheme that reflects the fair-mindedness and decency of the Australian people. Importantly, it provides life-changing support to around 750,000 Australians, so it's vital that we protect the NDIS for the long term by making sure it's sustainable, effective and safe and that it operates with integrity. The vast majority of NDIS providers deliver quality services and do the right thing, but there are, unfortunately, some who do the wrong thing. Our government continues to take action to ensure that all providers who operate under the system do so with integrity.

A review by the Australian National Audit Office found that the systems set up by the previous government lacked prevention controls and also did not appropriately account for fraud and non-compliant activity. The Albanese government has acted quickly, determined to address these significant gaps. We are making significant investments to tackle fraud and noncompliance, including setting up the Fraud Fusion Taskforce and passing laws to place the scheme on a sustainable footing.

The core purpose of this bill is to strengthen the regulator, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, and to support both the commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency to do their jobs more effectively. The bill specifically responds to calls for improved and enhanced quality and safety regulation for NDIS participants. The amendments in this bill do the following. We're strengthening penalties to ensure a fit-for-purpose framework that deters people from doing the wrong thing, including from providing and delivering poor-quality and unsafe services and supports. It ensures unsuitable people can be excluded from providing services in the NDIS by expanding the categories of people against whom a banning order can be imposed. The bill restricts a person from engaging in promotional conduct in connection with the NDIS where that conduct undermines the objects or the principles of the NDIS Act. It also strengthens the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission's powers to obtain relevant information from NDIS providers and other persons within appropriate timeframes. It also ensures that we can provide participants who wish to withdraw from the scheme with additional safeguards and additional communication options.

The Albanese government is committed to ensuring the National Disability Insurance Scheme provides essential supports for people with permanent and significant disability, both today and into the future. We want the scheme to be fair, consistent and empowering for people with disability. The NDIS must operate with integrity, and this bill upholds the government's commitment to strengthen compliance within the NDIS. It also addresses findings from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review, by strengthening the NDIS commission's powers.

Our goal is to build a system in which agencies have the powers to investigate the worst offences and providers are deterred from doing the wrong thing because they know they will face consequences. We know that more needs to be done, and we will continue to work closely with relevant agencies, law enforcement and the disability community. This bill is an extremely important part of that work, and I commend it to the House.

Alison Penfold (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2025. The NDIS is one of the most significant social reforms in our nation's history. It represents a solemn promise—that Australians living with disability will be supported with dignity, care and opportunity. But that promise is under pressure, and, unless we act decisively to restore integrity to the scheme, we risk undermining its long-term sustainability.

This bill introduces a number of sensible measures. It strengthens penalties for wrongdoing, expands the powers of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, broadens banning orders, introduces antipromotion orders and improves information gathering to detect fraud. These are important steps, but they are not enough, because the reality is this: the NDIS has become a target for exploitation.

Across communities like mine, constituents are raising serious issues and concerns. They're seeing providers charging exorbitant fees, billing for services not delivered and aggressively targeting vulnerable participants. One constituent told me of a provider boasting about pocketing thousands of dollars for basic outings, employing unqualified staff, charging the taxpayer heavily and exploiting the system. Another raised concerns that participants are being signed up to services that they rarely use but are still charged for because, in their words, 'Free services will always be abused.' Perhaps most concerning are cases like that of Vanessa from Largs, who described deeply troubling behaviour by a provider: disputed invoices, lack of transparency and even legal action against a vulnerable participant. These are not theoretical or abstract concerns. These are issues that are happening now in my electorate, and this is what Australians are experiencing. And it's compounded by the scale of the problem.

The NDIS is projected to cost around $46 billion this year and is growing at approximately 10 per cent annually. The rate of growth is simply not sustainable. Every dollar that is rorted is a dollar taken away from someone who genuinely needs support—a child requiring early intervention, a person with profound disability or a family relying on respite care. Recent findings of the ACCC highlight just how serious these issues are—false advertising, unfair contracts, charging for services not delivered and misleading claims about eligibility. This goes to the heart of integrity in the scheme.

We on this side of the House strongly support the NDIS, and I believe it is universally supported. This is not a political issue. This is an issue about how we best serve and support people with disability in this country. We believe in it, we fought for it and we want to see it protected for generations to come. But supporting the NDIS does not mean defending the status quo. It means ensuring the scheme is sustainable, fair and focused on those who need it most.

And that is where this bill falls short. It acknowledges the problem, but it does not fully confront it. Where is the comprehensive plan to restore integrity? Where is the decisive action to crack down on systemic rorting? Where is the accountability for the failures that have allowed this to occur? This legislation could have gone further. It could have introduced real-time auditing and data matching, strengthened provider registration requirements, improved transparency around pricing and delivered faster enforcement to shut down dodgy operators. Instead, we have a bill that makes incremental changes in the face of a systemic challenge.

If we're serious about protecting the NDIS, we must act with urgency. We must ensure regulators have not just powers but the intent to act. We must ensure that those who exploit the system face swift consequences, and we must restore confidence for participants, for families and for taxpayers. The NDIS cannot become a blank cheque. It must remain a targeted, sustainable system that delivers real outcomes for Australians living with disability.

This bill is a step in the right direction, but it is not the leap that is required. The Australian people deserve to have their taxes spent judiciously and meaningfully, and, most importantly, Australians living with disability deserve a system that works for them, not for those who seek to exploit it.

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026. The National Disability Insurance Scheme is one of the most significant social reforms in Australia's history, and it is reform grounded in Australian values of dignity and fairness. We invest in people with disabilities so that they can have the greatest possible degree of independence and participation, not only because it is the just thing to do but because it is the smart thing to do.

The significance of the NDIS being called an 'insurance' scheme reflects the fact that anyone, any of us, could acquire a disability. Having worked as a personal injury lawyer, I have seen that, no matter what your position is in life, an accident can have lifelong, catastrophic consequences. In my electorate of Menzies, the NDIS is one of the issues we hear most about. It is not always raised in every conversation, but, for those that rely on it or for families who care for someone who does, it is their No. 1 issue. It shapes their daily lives and their future. Those who use it value it deeply. They recognise it as a vast improvement on what came before.

Last year I met with Nakisa and a group of parents and carers who rely on the NDIS to support their children. It was clear how much love and care they put into ensuring their children have the best possible lives. It was also clear that this often put a strain on them, both financial and emotional. The NDIS is central to providing them the support that they need. It provides essential care that allows their children to live with dignity and comfort and to have the chance to go on outings and socialise—things that we often take for granted.

These carers valued the NDIS deeply, but alongside that appreciation was another concern about the future. Many spoke about what would happen when they are no longer there to advocate for their children. They want certainty that the system will be safe, that providers will be accountable and that safeguards will be strong enough to protect their children from harm or exploitation. Many also spoke of rorting, and those that did recognised that, unless there was greater integrity in the scheme, it risked losing public support.

Two parents provided an example of a tradie who submitted an invoice to do modifications on their home to accommodate the needs of their disabled son. When the tradie heard that the modifications were for the NDIS, they submitted another invoice for a much higher figure. These conversations demonstrated an important point that participants and families are asking for greater integrity in the system, to protect them and their loved ones and ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent as it should be—improving the lives of people with disabilities.

In 2022, when we came to government, the scheme faced unsustainable 22 per cent annual growth and inadequate fraud controls. It was not just financial risk; more importantly, it risked harm to participants and the social licence for the scheme. That's why this government invested $550 million to tackle fraud and strengthen oversight, and now we're in the position where more claims are processed and reviewed in a single day than were reviewed in an entire year under those opposite.

The bill strengthens integrity and safeguarding within the NDIS through targeted reforms. It introduces a tiered penalty framework so penalties reflect the seriousness of misconduct and deter wrongdoing. Registration conditions will be expanded, and information-gathering powers will be enhanced. Banning powers will also be extended to additional actors involved in the scheme, including auditors and consultants, ensuring consistent standards. This bill also introduces antipromotion orders to restrict harmful or misleading practices, and it strengthens the commission's enforcement tools and improves information sharing. The bill includes enabling measures for the agency. It provides clearer pathways for participants who wish to exit, allows the CEO to specify how claims are submitted to support secure digital processes and clarifies plan variations. This bill is not about making it harder for providers, the vast majority of whom do the right thing. It is about ensuring a fair and consistent system, protecting it from exploitation, supporting good providers and building trust.

The NDIS is a cornerstone of our social safety net. It reflects our values as a nation and our commitment to fairness and inclusion. This bill takes an important step towards achieving those goals and ensures that the NDIS remains focused on what matters most: supporting people with disability to live with dignity, independence and opportunity. I commend the bill to the House.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm proud to rise in support of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2025. Former prime minister Julia Gillard put it best when her Labor government established the NDIS in 2013:

Disability can affect any of us and therefore it affects all of us.

The risk of disability is universal, so our response is universal. The introduction of our National Disability Insurance Scheme was a once-in-a-generation reform, and it has reshaped the lives and the futures of Australians living with disability, their families and their carers.

In Gorton, a number of my constituents receive life-changing support from the NDIS. For people with high needs, like a constituent of mine who suffers from motor neurone disease, the NDIS provides high-intensity supports like nursing and hospital equipment that is absolutely essential for her survival. For others, like my young constituent from Caroline Springs, the NDIS helps to fund supports like therapeutic swimming lessons and day care, which are indispensable to her quality of life. It was great to visit a local service provider in my own community recently, alongside the Minister for the NDIS. Steve and Jenny from NeuroRehab in Deer Park are doing fantastic work in my community providing wraparound support for NDIS participants. I'd like to thank them both for kindly sharing with us the challenges they're facing as they advocate for their participants who are constituents in my community.

The scheme has had its ups and downs, and our role here in parliament is to re-evaluate and to improve it, because that's what a Labor government does. Labor introduced the life-changing scheme we call the NDIS, and Labor is here to secure the future of the NDIS. We have service providers like NeuroRehab right across the country working hard to support NDIS participants and doing the right thing. But we also know there are service providers out there who are behaving fraudulently and that there are breaches of code and conduct in the system. Where we see fraud, too often we also see violence, abuse and neglect.

The bill makes practical changes to crack down on fraud and misconduct by dodgy NDIS providers. It means that providers who do the wrong thing will face harsher penalties. This will include new offences, stronger civil and criminal penalties for misconduct and giving the NDIS commissioner more powers to punish providers, because NDIS participants and their loved ones deserve quality care. This is about justice—justice for participants who have been taken advantage of. We are sending a clear message to fraudulent service providers: dodgy behaviour will not be tolerated.

Breaches to the NDIS Code of Conduct may include providers failing to safeguard a participant from harm or breaching a participant's privacy, and punishments for providers whose breach involves a significant failure or a systemic pattern of conduct will be increased. The code of conduct is central to ensuring that participants can access the quality care they deserve, so we are strengthening it. This comes after reports of dodgy NDIS providers intimidating participants to change service providers and reports of providers trying to attract participants with offers of alcohol, tobacco or cash. Providers then allegedly drained participants plans while not providing the standard of care that was expected. This conduct should outrage us all. For vulnerable Australians to be taken advantage of like this is absolutely disgusting.

Let me be clear: these reforms are being debated today because it is a Labor government who is addressing these issues and putting these changes forward. Under the previous coalition government, these sorts of behaviours went unchecked. When Labor came to government in 2022, we inherited a system that was not ready to meet the challenges of the future. We inherited a total mess. The NDIS lacked basic prevention controls for fraud and noncompliance. We acted fast, investing $550 million into tackling fraud and noncompliance and passing the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Act.

While those opposite put reform in the too-hard basket, we're doing the real work to secure the future of the NDIS and we're making sure the scheme works for the participants who it is designed for, not against them. Here we're continuing our work to crack down on fraud and noncompliance by dodgy providers. It will mean better outcomes for people with disabilities and their families. When Labor introduced the NDIS, it wasn't about providers taking advantage of vulnerable people. The NDIS is about dignity, and that's what this bill is here to protect. This bill is in essence about dignity, which is why I'm so proud to commend this bill to the House today.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The immediate question is that the amendment be agreed to.

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.