NDIS provider has registration suspended amid multimillion-dollar fraud probe

NDIS provider Hearts to Homes has been suspended following police raids as part of an investigation into an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud ring.

The Australian Federal Police raids the home Tea Sabanovic, a director of Hearts to Homes Australia. Picture: AFP

EXCLUSIVE: An NDIS company that looks after some of Australia’s most vulnerable people has had its registration suspended following raids by authorities investigating a suspected multimillion-dollar fraud ring.

Hearts to Homes Aust Pty Ltd, which provides NDIS services in NSW and South Australia, will not be allowed to provide accommodation, support in the home or in the community, social activities or transport for 30 days from December 2.

The watchdog issued a notice to 41-year-old Ines Nasup and Tea Sabanovic, 40, on behalf of the company on November 11. The women are the two directors and co-owners of the registered NDIS provider.

Tea Sabanovic.

Ines Nasup.

Last month, the NSW Police Force Financial Crimes squad, Australian Federal Police Fraud Fusion Taskforce and South Australia Police executed five warrants across the two states as part of Operation Banksia, collecting evidence against an alleged syndicate.

One of the houses raided in Sydney is owned by Ms Sabanovic, while another raided in Adelaide is a current registered address for Ms Nasup.

The AFP said Operation Banksia is an investigation into an “organised crime syndicate allegedly operating multiple NDIS providers in Western Sydney and Adelaide”.

Investigators are checking more than $40 million in claims over several years.

It is alleged the network has submitted hundreds of claims where services were not delivered, including claims for participants who were incarcerated at the time the alleged services were delivered.

No charges have been laid and no allegations of wrongdoing have been made against either of the directors.

The Sydney house owned by Tea Sabanovic.

The house in Prospect, South Australia.

Ms Sabanovic’s lawyer, Ammar Jamal-Eddine from Concordia Legal, said his client would not be making any public comment.

“Given that matters are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” he said.

Prior to her lawyer’s statement, Ms Sabanovic said “everything had gone crazy”, when asked by this masthead why the company’s registration had been suspended.

Ms Nasup did not respond to requests for comment via LinkedIn and the company’s email.

On her LinkedIn profile she states she has more than nine years of work experience in the disability services sector and is a “passionate and skilled director and leader”.

“As the director at Hearts to Homes Australia, I oversaw the operations and administration of an organisation that provides housing and support for people with disabilities,” she wrote on her LinkedIn page.

“I am committed to enhancing the lives and wellbeing of people with disabilities, and I seek to connect with teams that shares (sic) the same vision and values.”

A NDIS Commission spokesman said the regulator was working with the National Disability Insurance Agency to “ensure that all participants are safely transitioned to other services so there is a continuity of supports”. Picture: Mark Wilson

The Hearts to Homes website says the provider can look after children and adults of all ages with an acquired brain injury, intellectual disability, mental health disability, autism, dementia, those in need of a ventilator, physical disability and spinal injury.

A document obtained under freedom of information laws shows Hearts to Homes received $4.4m in direct government payments last financial year.

A spokesman for the NDIS Commission said the regulator was working with the National Disability Insurance Agency to “ensure that all participants are safely transitioned to other services so there is a continuity of supports”.

Originally published as NDIS provider has registration suspended amid multimillion-dollar fraud probe