Labor cracks down on dodgy NDIS fraudsters
The government is shifting NDIS providers onto a new verification system that will bolster ID checks and seek out dodgy operators.
The government is shifting NDIS providers onto a new verification system that will bolster ID checks and seek out dodgy operators.
As part of its crackdown on fraud, Labor on Monday announced it was moving all NDIS providers onto myID, formerly known as myGov, to enforce more stringent identity checks.
“Measures like myID allow us to crack down on identity fraud and make the NDIS more secure,” NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister said.
“It means we can be sure that everyone processing a transaction related to a plan is who they say they are.”
Once authorised, users can access participants’ plans, complete transactions and claim invoices for NDIS supports.
The crackdown on fraud is part of a broader effort by Labor to drastically rein in the growth of the $46bn scheme, reducing its annual growth from 10.6 per cent currently to between 4 and 6 per cent.
While the government says it is “on track” to meet its 8 per cent growth target by mid next year, it has not been clear about when it will reduce growth further.
As part of its crackdown on fraud, Labor has invested $151m into setting up a taskforce that has so far launched more than 600 investigations.
Tip-off volumes have also increased by more than 250 per cent since the taskforce was established last year, with 50 people facing court on fraud charges.
Senator McAllister said the changes to the ID checks would improve the integrity of the scheme more broadly.
“This is good news for hundreds of thousands of Australians with a disability and for the NDIS itself because data of participants, their family members and the broader integrity of the scheme is better protected,” she said.
