Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

I table an addendum to the explanatory memorandum and a supplementary explanatory memorandum relating to the government amendment to be moved to this bill, the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2025.

The NDIS has been transformational for the lives of people with disability and for their families, and I am determined to see it take its rightful place amongst the pillars of our uniquely Australian social safety net. This bill is a significant step in the right direction. I thank the thousands of people with disability, their families, support workers and providers as well as the broader community for coming forward and sharing their stories in consultations on this bill, in consultations on scheme reform and in the disability royal commission. We have heard these stories, and for many they have not been easy stories to tell. To those people: you have made a difference. We've heard your stories and we've heard the need for change. We heard that, when things go wrong, far too often vulnerable people do not get the support they need, and that safeguards around fraud and integrity in the NDIS desperately need strengthening.

Under the former coalition government, the NDIS was rendered a soft target. Fewer than 30 staff in the NDIA worked on fraud. Under this government, there are hundreds. Under the coalition, just 30 warrants were issued across four years from 2018 to 2021. Under this government, 77 warrants were executed in just 2025. Under the coalition, there were just five prosecutions in their last year in office. Under this government, 21 prosecutions have commenced already in this financial year.

We are making progress against those who prey on people with disability and the NDIS, but cracking down on bad actors trying to take advantage of the scheme requires further legislative change. This bill aims to address that. It will give the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission additional powers to be the regulator that participants and the scheme need and deserve. It will help the commission step out on the front foot by giving them strengthened regulatory powers and a long-overdue opportunity to be proactive instead of reactive. It will increase deterrence factors, with penalties consistent with our work health and safety laws, recognising that the lives of people with disability are valued as much by this parliament as the lives of any other Australians. Providers who intentionally or negligently harm participants in their care will be held accountable and feel the full force of the law.

Some senators have suggested that this bill does not tackle unregistered providers. This is false. Many of the penalties in this bill apply both to registered and unregistered providers. Banning orders apply both to registered and unregistered providers. All providers are required to adhere to the NDIS Code of Conduct.

Our message to fraudsters is a simple one. If you are banned from the NDIS but choose to contravene that banning order, you do not belong in the disability sector—you belong in prison. If you think you can get rich and cut corners by operating without registration when it is required, you also belong in prison. And, if you think you can get away with shonky marketing which tricks NDIS participants into misusing their funding, then we will fine you as much as $400,000.

We want the scheme to work for participants, not for people looking to make a buck off the back of exploiting people with disability. We know that there is more to do, and I look forward to the work over the coming months of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, led by the formidable member for Corangamite, to consider further measures the government can take to safeguard the integrity of the scheme.

I thank senators for the many sincere contributions made to this debate over the last hour. Many have indicated support for the bill, which I appreciate. I thank the Liberal and Greens representatives who have worked with my office on amendments. I've written to Senator Steele-John confirming the government's intention to consult further on whistleblower protections and can confirm our support for the amendments you intend to move in relation to whistleblowers. There are a number of other amendments that will be moved—including, I understand, opposition amendments—which the government will also support. There are others we cannot support, and I will explain that in the committee stage. Lastly, I want to thank, again, the disability community for their advocacy on these reforms. I am confident they will make a difference and I commend the bill to the chamber.