The second raft of changes to the NDIS legislation will bring some serious consequences to providers who mistreat patients or game the system.
NDIS providers have been put on notice – abuse patients or rort the system and face fines of up to $15 million and prioritised police investigations.
Yesterday outgoing minister for social services Bill Shorten announced the second part of the NDIS legislation, Getting it Back on Track Bill, focused on increased protections for participants.
Penalties for providers will increase from a maximum of $400,000 to more than $15 million when a participant is hurt or injured under the provider’s care.
This will bring the maximum penalty for harming an NDIS participant into line with the maximum penalty for harming a worker. Currently, under WHS legislation the value of a worker’s “life” is valued at 38 times the value of an NDIS participant’s.
For the first time in the commission’s history, the proposed legislation will also give it the power to refer providers for criminal prosecution, for example, where there is a serious failure to comply with registration conditions.
“These changes are well overdue to ensure the watchdog has the powers it needs to keep dodgy providers out of the NDIS for good,” said Mr Shorten.
“The independent NDIS Review and the Disability Royal Commission recommended strengthening the NDIS Commission’s powers through more active monitoring, compliance and enforcement.
“The changes will increase the transparency and accountability of providers and expand banning powers, which currently only relate to providers, so they can be applied to bad actors who are operating in all areas of the NDIS.”
Consultation on the bill has begun and will ramp up through November, said the DSS’s announcement.
The proposed legislation, expected to be tabled in Parliament, following consultation and the release of an exposure draft, includes measures to:
- impose stricter regulatory requirements and stronger penalties and criminal offences for those doing the wrong thing;
- strengthen information gathering powers to improve monitoring and compliance of NDIS providers and others; and
- expand the scope and application of banning orders to also include people operating in other critical areas of the NDIS, such as auditing and consulting activities.
“It will deliver strong measures to deter aggressive commercial practice by providers that exploits NDIS participants and erodes scheme sustainability,” said Mr Shorten.
“Through ongoing engagement, consultation and communication, we will work closely with state and territory governments and the disability sector to ensure these reforms deliver better quality services and safeguard NDIS participants and their families.”