NDIS bungle leaves families in limbo

Families have been left in limbo by a technology bungle plaguing the $22bn National Disability ­Insurance Scheme.

Ellen Sanders, of Goolwa in South Australia, has seen NDIS services withdrawn for her two autistic children Tanisha, 7, and Caleb, 6. Picture: James Elsby

Families have been left in limbo by a technology bungle plaguing the $22 billion National Disability ­Insurance Scheme that has forced health professionals to suspend ­therapies and for children go without critical equipment.

The federal government has conceded the flawed new MyPlace payment portal used by the National Disability Insurance Agency was designed and built “in-house” by the Department of Human Services.

The online processing system, which has been malfunctioning since the national services rollout began on July 1, is the subject of a review commissioned by Social Services Minister Christian Porter and Assistant Disabilities Minister Jane Prentice on August 5.

Ellen Sanders said her two ­autistic children, Tanisha and Caleb, had regressed in their behaviour since their psychologist was forced to withdraw services because of the NDIS IT bungle.

“The psychologist had not been getting paid so she had to suspend my children’s appointments and it’s now been four weeks with no appointments,” Ms Sanders said.

“My daughter has gone quite backwards, she has not been this bad for a long time. There was a two-year waiting list to see the psychologist and now we’re in limbo.

“The government’s response has been disgusting. They are up in arms about the census but the most vulnerable are just put on the backburner.”

Psychologist Donna Kite, who operates in the South Australian city of Port Augusta, 300km north of Adelaide, saw six NDIS clients last week but spent 18 hours on red tape.

“I was looking at expanding psychology services to NDIA ­clients — as there is a need in rural South Australia — but this process has placed me on the edge of withdrawing providing (any) ­psychology services to NDIA clients,” she said.

She said among a litany of problems with the new system were unpredictable payments, ­inaccurate information with psychologists, audiologists and speech pathologists grouped as “social workers” and inaccurate funding amounts in clients’ plans.

“It is impossible to see how much funding has been used by other therapists, since this transition has occurred, so there is no idea of accurate amounts left,” she said.

Dr Kite said the response to problems as they arose, including about managing emergency funding because of the IT problems, was ad hoc at best.

“I know of professionals who have become so stressed over this, they are reassessing their entire private practice therapy businesses and their health and emotional state has suffered,” she said.

South Australian upper house Dignity for Disability MP Kelly Vincent said the “ongoing fiasco” was a “national disgrace”.

“Now we have children with epilepsy, cerebral palsy, autism and other disabilities going without services and therapies, including equipment essential for their safety,” she said.

“Occupational therapists can’t get basic equipment such as a rail to prevent a child with epilepsy from falling out of bed. This is a critical safety issue for our children with disabilities.

A government spokesman last night said the department and the NDIA “advise that the provider and participant portals are now able to process claims without error for valid payment requests”.