Rogue Cocoon parent company banned from NDIS, ‘engaged in systemic misconduct’
Rogue disability provider Cocoon engaged in misconduct, including falsely claiming it provided services to dead or incarcerated NDIS participants, federal authorities have concluded.
Rogue disability provider Cocoon engaged in serious and systemic misconduct, including falsely claiming it provided services to dead or incarcerated NDIS participants in a gross violation of trust, federal authorities have found.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has permanently banned Cocoon’s parent company and its sole director, as the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would not tolerate “rorts” or abuse of the $48.5bn-a-year scheme.
“Horizon has grossly violated the trust placed in them by participants, families and frontline staff,” NDIS Commissioner Louise Glanville said late on Wednesday.
“This was nothing less than callous and deliberate abuse of a system designed to support dignity, independence and fairness for people with disability.”
Permanent banning orders against Horizon Solsolutions Australia, the parent company of Cocoon SDA Care, and director Muhammad Latif will come into effect on June 7.
The NDIS Commission said the ban “followed a detailed investigation that uncovered serious and systemic misconduct, including improper and false service claims for participants who were deceased or incarcerated, and unlawful breaches of participant privacy”.
Ms Glanville added: “Our investigation found Horizon repeatedly breached the NDIS Code of Conduct by failing to act with integrity, honesty and transparency. This provider is not competent to deliver NDIS services and supports. A permanent ban on the company and its director prevents any future access to NDIS funds and sends a strong message to the community that fraud and exploitation will not be tolerated.”
An ongoing investigation by The Australian has revealed the men behind Cocoon – co-founders Mr Latif and his longtime business partner and former bankrupt Zaffar Khan – were able to keep operating for years despite a slew of complaints about the company’s practices and after failing audits under a different company name.
Horizon has also been accused of wrongly making claims for providing services to prisoners, and wrongly charged more than $77,000 for providing services to three dead people.
Mr Latif and Horizon will have the right to appeal the ban, which supersedes the 30-day suspension notices issued earlier this month.
The commission’s orders prohibit the company and Mr Latif from providing supports and services to people with a disability through the NDIS.
The commission said it worked closely with the National Disability Insurance Agency and other federal agencies as part of a long-running and complex investigation into Horizon by the cross-government Fraud Fusion Taskforce.
“Other individuals and businesses linked to Horizon continue to be monitored, and the NDIS Commission will take further action as appropriate,” it said.
NDIA chief executive Rebecca Falkingham said “safety of participants is our absolute priority and we’ve made sure participants have had the support they need to move to alternative providers”.
Both Mr Latif and Mr Khan have denied wrongdoing, and on Wednesday Mr Khan described the NDIS decision as “heavy-handed and disproportionate” and flagged seeking legal advice ahead of a possible review.
“The financial blockade imposed in March by the withholding of all payments to our business has had catastrophic impacts on innocent Australians. Hundreds of NDIS participants have been stripped of support from trusted, close-knit personal carers and support staff, with many also losing their homes,” Mr Khan said.
“I believe the small number of isolated – and principally administrative errors – identified in the commission’s correspondence to Cocoon … are matters which ordinarily should have been addressed through a direction to rectify, a financial fine or a compliance notice.”
Mr Khan said the watchdog had “found fault in how just a few hours of service over a handful of days were provided to half a dozen participants” of the hundreds of people Cocoon had supported.
The Cocoon group of companies has its headquarters in Brisbane and is run by former taxi driver Mr Khan, while Mr Latif is sole director of Horizon.
Federal Court filings said Horizon and Mr Latif were issued with notices from the NDIS Commission on March 10, warning them of proposed orders banning them from being involved in providing services to people with disabilities.
Former Cocoon chief executive turned whistleblower Tanya Quinn has previously called for an inquiry into the NDIS, saying that the Cocoon case has highlighted major flaws with NDIS registration and regulation.
In August 2023, just days after starting as CEO, Ms Quinn alerted then-NDIS minister Bill Shorten about what she saw as Cocoon’s alarming practices. She also reported her concerns to the NDIA, NDIS Commission, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Taxation Office and corporate watchdog ASIC.
The Prime Minister was asked in Brisbane on Wednesday whether there needed to be a broader systemic inquiry into the issues highlighted by the Cocoon case.
Mr Albanese said his government – starting with former NDIS minister Mr Shorten and now current NDIS ministers Jenny McAllister and Mark Butler – was “getting into … these rorts” that “were allowed to be there for 10 years … We need to make sure that there’s integrity in the system.
“We need to make sure the system is made sustainable, and we’re working with state and territory governments. These sorts of things … really are an abuse of the system and, frankly, an insult to the people who need the NDIS.”
Do you know more? Confidentially contact murrayd@theaustralian.com.au
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