NDIS set to cost more than Defence as CEO paid more than the Prime Minister, and top exec salaries revealed

NDIS spending will overtake Defence as an investigation into the $44bn scheme reveals it has become a bloated bureaucracy whose CEO earns more than the PM. See what other executives earn.

Julie CrossNational Social Affairs Writer

@juliejourno

2 min read

March 1, 2025 - 5:00AM

National News Network

NDIS boss admits staff don't have time to read costly reports

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Exclusive: NDIS spending is set to overtake defence by 2028, as an investigation into the $44 billion scheme reveals it has become a failing, bloated bureaucracy under Labor.

The total annual staffing bill has jumped by more than a quarter of a billion dollars since the last election, with its 5070 employees in June 2022 almost doubling to 9129 by the end of last year. Senior executives also climbed from 91 to 160 in that same period.

At the top multiple senior managers enjoy an annual package of more than half a million dollars, while the National Disability Insurance Agency CEO Rebecca Falkingham’s wage and employee benefits amount to $808,600 – $220,000 more than the Prime Minister.

Rebecca Falkingham is the CEO. Picture: Supplied

It comes as complaints and reports of alleged abuse within the NDIS have soared in the last three years, with some of those most reliant on the scheme, accusing the agency of unfairly slashing their funds.

On Thursday Ms Falkingham made a shocking admission over medical reports, admitting planners don’t always fully read them.

Independent economist Saul Eslake said although the NDIS has saved an extra $600m more than expected over the first seven months of this financial year, even if those savings continued, the government’s own projections show that the scheme will cost more than Australia’s defence operating costs by 2028, if not before.

By then Mr Eslake estimated the NDIS – which has seen the number of participants jump from 534,655 in June 2022 to 692,000 – will cost taxpayers an estimated $58.3b a year, compared to $55.1b on defence.

“At face value it is disturbing and concerning,” Mr Eslake said.

“The blowout in the costs is a serious administrative failing.

“The NDIS is an incredibly well motivated idea and it is a tragedy that it has been sullied by maladministration, rorting and shysters and shonks.”

Former head of the Business Council of Australia, Tony Shepherd, said he headed an audit of the NDIS as it was being launched in 2013 and “blew the whistle”, foreseeing all the problems back then, but none of his recommendations were taken onboard.

He said while the scheme was worthy, it had not been implemented properly and needed an external audit.

“Governments rarely do post mortems on failures but they have an obligation to taxpayers,” Mr Shepherd said.

Deputy CEO Partners Providers and Home and Living Penelope McKay earns $541.6k.

Scheme Actuary David Gifford earns $504.9k.

He said while Labor had tried hard to solve the problems it was “time to pause” and work through the problems.

Meanwhile, more participants are reporting alleged abuse, according to the latest data, with the number of reported incidents up from 29.9 per 1000 participants in 2021-2022 to 39.9 per 1000 in the last financial year.

Incidents include alleged sexual misconduct, serious injury, abuse and neglect and any deaths.

Opposition MP James Stevens, tasked with finding wasteful government spending, said the “NDIS is rife with examples of outrageous and irresponsible spending”.

“From African safaris to luxury cruises, the NDIS has been wasting taxpayers’ money,” Mr Stevens said.

Deputy CEO Governance, Risk and Legal Debbie Mitchell earns $510k.

Minister for the NDIS Amanda Rishworth said year-on-year data for January shows scheme growth was at 11 per cent, just under this year’s target of 12 per cent, with it remaining on track to hit National Cabinet’s growth target of 8 per cent by 2026-27.

She said the Albanese government has made significant investments in the NDIS watchdog and on keeping participants safe from fraud and exploitation, and had seen significant outcomes achieved through the Fraud Fusion Taskforce and Crack Down on Fraud programs.