NDIS management failures hurt our most vulnerable

The plight of bedridden and severely disabled Australians locked out on the street with nowhere to go because of the conduct of an unscrupulous registered National Disability Insurance Scheme provider is heartbreaking. Australians who read national crime correspondent David Murray’s article on Saturday know our most vulnerable citizens deserve much better.

The lockout stemmed from ­registered NDIS provider Cocoon SDA Care failing to pay rent on properties. Lack of government funding to the NDIS is not the problem; poor management and lack of oversight are, especially when taxpayers pay $48.5bn a year for the scheme.

The NDIS has widespread public and political support; it is a hallmark of our civilised society. But it is clear from Murray’s investigation of Cocoon SDA Care that the design of the scheme and its safeguards are not fit for purpose.

Sweeping reform to protect those who need the scheme most must be a priority of the second Albanese government. On Friday, Murray revealed that Cocoon offered senior staff – team leaders and “relationship managers” known as “Cocoon champs” in the business – secret ­bonuses of up to $5000 for signing up each new NDIS client needing one-on-one around-the-clock support.

But incentive programs are not in disabled people’s best interests, the Specialist Disability Accommodation Alliance, representing 72 providers nationwide and industry best practice, told The Australian. Incentive programs could lead to pressure on people with disabilities to make choices against their own interests.

SDA Alliance chief executive Jeramy Hope said: “It creates a financial incentive to prioritise filling vacancies over what’s best for the individual, which can lead to undue pressure on participants and their support networks to accept housing that may not suit their needs. This undermines the principles of autonomy, choice and control that are central to the NDIS. People with disability deserve to choose their home free from external financial influences, based solely on what is right for them.”

On Wednesday last week, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission said it was suspending the company’s registration for 30 days after serious safety concerns were identified in recent site visits to properties housing NDIS participants. Better late than never. In November 2023, the watchdog issued the company with three infringement notices, totalling more than $50,000, for failing to provide support and services in a safe and competent manner, but it was allowed to continue operating.

The suspension, 18 months later, raises questions about how vigilant the commission was in monitoring its performance in the meantime. Cocoon staff chasing unpaid wages were distressed last week to learn of the company’s suspension through the media.

After refusing to answer questions for a week, Cocoon SDA Care co-founder Zaffar Khan, approached by The Australian outside his home in Brisbane’s south, claimed the business was providing “exceptional” care and had correct safety and other systems in place. The business blames a National Disability Insurance Agency audit for holding up NDIS funding and preventing it from paying staff.

The Australian’s investigation has heightened concerns about accountability in the NDIS. It also has raised the issue of what due diligence was done by the NDIS before it signed up Cocoon as a provider.

Did it not discover that Mr Khan was a ­former bankrupt who had been the subject of previous consumer warnings over “get rich quick” property seminars he presented across the country? How carefully are other providers’ records and backgrounds scrutinised? As Murray wrote on Saturday: “How Cocoon continued operating after all the red flags points to an overwhelmed scheme that is now playing catch-up to sort the bogus from the genuine.”