Fears Sydney NDIS provider Sykee on brink of collapse as wages, super unpaid

There are fears an NDIS provider with 200 clients is on its last legs after an alleged embezzlement scandal emerged.

An NDIS service provider has denied it is on the brink of collapse despite staff while employees’ pay arrives increasingly late.

Sykee, a Sydney based NDIS mental health service provider which opened three years ago, employs around 60 support workers and a further 10 head office staff.

But since July, the business hasn’t paid staff their super and also hasn’t paid them their wages on time.

Sykee has since admitted to being plagued by “financial constraints” in a text message seen by news.com.au.

Staff are handing in their resignations and many are concerned what the company’s financial health will mean for its 200 clients.

In a bizarre all-company text message sent to staff at the end of last month, Sykee’s sole director Joshua Scott revealed the business was undergoing a “forensic investigation”.

A bizarre text all employees received last month.

Employees were encouraged to be whistleblowers if they knew more.

In the text message, Mr Scott encouraged staff to blow the whistle if they knew anything about “operational misconduct”, including “fraudulent practices”, inaccurate reporting of shifts, billing irregularities and unexpected charges to clients.

“There has been some issues,” Mr Scott acknowledged to news.com.au in a phone call.

“I’m only making payments to those who are making the business run prior to the ones making the business work.”

By this, he means he’s paying those essential to keeping money coming in, like the support workers, as opposed to creditors and other employees.

“I’m paying the workers before I pay super. I’m paying the workers before other creditors.”

He said he had discovered “some sort of weird embezzlement” going on at his company, which has caused cash flow to be strangled. “The scale of it is prolific,” he added.

The amount of money lost in the embezzlement had apparently hit the six figure mark, he said.

The NDIS boss also insisted the company was not going to collapse.

After the call, Mr Scott cancelled two prearranged meetings with news.com.au and then threatened legal action.

Last week, he called an all-staff crisis meeting, on Thursday.

News.com.au understands staff were concerned in the meeting.

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An email sent last month about the late pay.

Another company text where staff were offered a bonus if they “spot(ted) a leak”.

Meanwhile, staff have been left dealing with the consequences of the delayed pay, with some complaining of falling behind on their rent and mortgage

In one extreme case, according to other staff members, a support worker was unable to attend his shift as he didn’t have enough money to afford the fuel to get there.

Fiona*, 25, who did not want to share her last name, said the strain from receiving her pay late has been “overwhelming”.

“I’ve been struggling to keep up with my mortgage payments and other bills, resulting in late fees that only deepen the financial burden,” Fiona told news.com.au.

“With the holidays approaching, it’s heartbreaking to know I won’t be able to visit family members this year due to these financial constraints.”

Sean*, an employee, is fed up with his pay being more than 12 days late – and still counting.

Pay arrived late in February and the company blamed it on a glitch. But a few months later, the pay issues started to become more frequent. At first the company said it was an IT issue, then they said the problem arose because they had switched banks. Yet, the problem has persisted.

Sean, also 25, also hasn’t received any of superannuation his since August.

“Basically everyone I’ve talked to are looking for new jobs. None of us see much future in the company,” he said.

“Something clearly went wrong.”

Sean has lodged an anonymous complaint to the Australian Tax Office.

An email sent in February blaming the issues on a glitch.

Hayden*, who did not wish to use his real name, has been working at Sykee for several years and fears what will happen to his clients if the business goes bust.

“I have a lot of really good things to say about Sykee. It’s just a shame. There’s an underlying feeling of betrayal,” he said.

He works with a number of clients with complex mental health or neurological issues. Although he’s looking for another job, he fears leaving his clients and what it would mean for them if the entire company were to shut down.

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