Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill, and I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

The Albanese Government is committed to ensuring the National Disability Insurance Scheme provides essential disability supports for people with permanent and significant disability, today and into the future.

We want to build the very best NDIS that we can—one that is fair, consistent and empowering for people with permanent and significant disability.

That means putting people with disability back at the heart of the NDIS and ensuring it is here to support generations to come.

The NDIS must also be safe and operate with integrity.

When Labor came to Government in 2022, spending on National Disability Insurance Scheme was growing by 22 per cent a year.

Before the implementation of Labor's NDIS Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No.1) Act in 2024, the NDIS lacked basic prevention controls for fraud and non-compliance.

This Government is determined to build an NDIS that is sustainable, effective, safe and operates with integrity.

Those who defraud the NDIS are exploiting the hundreds of thousands of Australians who rely on the lifechanging support the NDIS delivers.

Our Government acted quickly, investing over $550 million in tackling fraud and non-compliance, setting up the Fraud Fusion Task Force, and passing Getting the NDIS back on track Act Number 1 to place it on a sustainable footing.

But there is much more work to do.

We know that the vast majority of NDIS providers do the right thing and provide quality services.

But there are too many that see the NDIS not as a disability support scheme but as a get rich quick scheme.

Where we see fraud, too often we see violence, abuse and neglect.

We are determined to clean up the sector and protect people with disability.

This Bill will give the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission more of the powers it needs to be more responsive to protect participants from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

At the same time, it will make minor changes that will support the NDIA in improving the experience of participants.

CONSULTATION

I want to thank the disability community for their insights in helping shape many of these reforms.

The NDIS Commission held forums, both face to face and online, ensuring that anyone who wanted their voice heard on these reforms had the chance to be listened to.

We heard from participants, carers and providers about how these reforms will help them in supporting the disability community.

We heard that tougher penalties for mistreatment and poor behaviour are required.

We heard providers must be accountable for their staff and the services they provide to participants.

We heard that predatory and unethical advertising of NDIS supports must be identified and stopped.

MEASURES

Strengthened Penalty Framework

A stronger penalty framework will strengthen the NDIS Commission's ability to deter, respond to and prevent contraventions of the NDIS Act.

Under current arrangements, if an organisation is found liable for an event that inflicts serious harm on both a worker and a NDIS participant, the penalty for harming the worker could be as much as 38 times the penalty for harming the NDIS participant.

Penalties we are seeking to introduce include civil penalties of up to 10,000 penalty units, currently $3.3 million, for individuals. And for corporations, 50,000 penalty units, currently in excess of $16 million.

The availability of a higher penalty aims to enable a more proportionate, reasonable and effective response to these types of aggravated breaches of the NDIS Act.

However, we know that there are some providers out there who must be registered but are shirking their responsibility to be registered. This is irresponsible, it's unsafe, and it's illegal.

In both of these cases, we are seeking to introduce a term of imprisonment of up to two years or 120 penalty units, or both, where serious failure to abide by these requirements, where a provider has deliberately or recklessly failed to comply.

Banning Orders are placed on providers and individuals who demonstrate the most serious of poor conduct, where the threat of harm, exploitation and dishonestly exists.

We're also introducing a stronger penalty for people who fail to comply with a banning order—up to 5 years imprisonment or 300 penalty units or both.

Banning Orders Expansion

We are broadening the scope of who a banning order can be placed upon.

The NDIS Commission's existing banning order powers only apply to providers and their workers.

We know there are auditors and consultants who are not fit to operate within the NDIS sector.

What we are proposing is to broaden the NDIS Commission's banning order powers to capture those who provide services to NDIS providers.

This amendment addresses a regulatory gap, improving participant safety, preventing future harm, and safeguarding the Scheme against those who would take advantage, exploit and rip off our community.

Anti-Promotion Orders

We are seeing a growing practice of providers who advertise or sell supports and services to participants that are not only inconsistent with the NDIS Code of Conduct and the purpose of the scheme, but also risks harming vulnerable participants, including by undermining their choice and control over services.

The Commissioner will be given a new power to issue an antipromotion order restricting a person from engaging in promotional conduct in connection with the NDIS where that conduct undermines the objects of the NDIS Act.

This change will enable the Commission to swiftly address behaviours inconsistent with the integrity of the NDIS.

Information Gathering

The Bill expands the registration conditions of NDIS providers to require them to comply with document requests from the Commission.

This change complements the already enacted power the Commission has in requiring compliance with an information request.

Providers will continue to have at least 14 days to respond.

However, where the Commissioner forms a reasonable belief that there is a risk of injury, harm, or death of a person with a disability, this Bill would allow for a shorter timeframe for providing information or documents to be imposed.

Rule Making Powers for Sharing Protected Commissioner Information

To enhance information sharing across the Commission and other safeguarding entities, the Bill would enable the Commissioner to make NDIS Rules prescribing bodies to which protected Commission information may be disclosed, and for what purposes such disclosures may be made.

Prima Facie Evidence

We are also introducing an amendment to allow the Commissioner to issue an evidentiary certificate for use as prima facie evidence to increase efficiency in providing uncontroversial evidence.

Amendments related to the National Disability Insurance Agency

Withdrawing from the Scheme

This bill introduces a safeguard for participants requesting to withdraw from the NDIS, in the form of a 90-day cooling-off period. During this period, participants will be able to cancel their request. It will ensure the request to leave is genuine, and will prevent physical, mental or financial harm to the participant, as a result of leaving the scheme without due consideration and planning.

Additionally, the Bill will also expand the manner that participants and their nominees can provide notification to the NDIA they want to leave the Scheme, such as over the phone and in person.

Electronic Claim Forms

This amendment will enable the NDIA to require providers to lodge their claims via electronic claim forms. A small change that will generate significant efficiencies in how the scheme is run.

Plan variation

The bill also clarifies the current legislation by specifying that plan variations can include an increase or decrease of the total funding amounts.

NDIS participants may experience changes in their circumstances, including the need to adjust their supports and funding.

This does not change the current plan variation arrangements, including the circumstances in which plans can be varied and the kinds of variations that can be made. These are already specified in the Act and will not be amended by this bill.

Rather this addition clarifies that at times, a plan variation can result in a reduction in NDIS funding. For example, if a participant receives a lump sum compensation payment that is relevant to NDIS funding which pays for a similar disability support, there may be a need to adjust funding in a participant's plan. These amendments ensure a participant who receives a compensation or supports under a statutory scheme after a plan is approved, can have their plan adjusted without having to undergo another support needs assessment.

CONCLUSION

Through this Bill we are putting in place the necessary changes to how the NDIS is regulated, ensuring the Scheme remains sustainable, has integrity and makes headway to bring it back to its original purpose—that people with a disability receive the high quality, safe supports and services they deserve, that enable them to participate fully in their communities.

Debate adjourned.

Ordered that further consideration of the second reading of this bill be adjourned to the first sitting day of the next period of sittings, in accordance with standing order 111.