Linda Reynolds’ NDIS costings wrong: Bill Shorten

Labor has accused Linda Reynolds of ‘releasing false financial information’ in an attempt to show the NDIS is economically unsustainable.

Linda Reynolds has been challenged over claims that NDIS costs have increased at a much higher rate than expected. Picture: Getty Images

Labor is accusing Government Services Minister Linda Reynolds and the National Disability Insurance Agency of releasing fake information in a bid to suggest the scheme is financially unsustainable.

Funding for participants had decreased rather than increased over the past year, which was at odds with the most recent National Disability Insurance Agency data, Opposition NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten said on Tuesday.

Mr Shorten also disputed Senator Reynolds’ claim that costs had increased at a much higher rate than expected.

“The NDIA reports (Jan-June 2021) average participant annual spend is $55,900,” he said. “Which means Minister Reynolds’ media release amount of $53,400 is actually a decrease of $2500 per participant.”

Bill Shorten. Picture: Gary Ramage

The Australian on Monday revealed 472,000 NDIS participants received $2.15bn in July, according to NDIA data, which was 3 per cent higher than estimated in financial sustainability reports published as ­recently as July 3.

The same data said costs were running 18 per cent higher than in July last year, driven by an increase of more than 70,000 participants.

But Mr Shorten said the figures were wrong, spending had reduced and the per participant cost had been cut dramatically.

“The Morrison government has released false financial information to hype its claims of NDIS budget blowouts,” he said.

“It is bad enough that NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds cruelly scapegoats people with disability to justify ideologically driven cuts to the safety net.

“But it is a new low to fake the numbers and pretend the costs are growing when her own figures show they are reducing.”

Senator Rey­nolds has said the scheme would outstrip the cost of Medicare in less than two years if spending was not brought into line as she warned that one of her major tasks in the role was to put the NDIS on a “more sustainable cost trajectory”.

“Five months ago, we thought the NDIS would overtake the cost of the Medicare in three years but on the current rates it will surpass Medicare in less than two years,” she told 6PR on Monday.

Senator Reynolds said while the scheme had been intended for Australians with the “most significant and permanent” disabilities,

“We’ve got many more young children with autism and early developmental (issues), who despite us providing early childhood intervention, are not leaving the scheme as we thought that they would. So there’s a whole range of people trying to come into this scheme because they’re obese or they’ve got disabilities from that health condition.”

Mr Shorten said on Tuesday that while Senator Reynolds claimed the scheme’s cost had increased by 18 per cent in July this year compared to July 2020, 80,640 Australians had become NDIS recipients over the same period.

“An increase of 20.5 per cent (participants),” he said. “Which means per-participant cost is going down.”