Bill Shorten’s new proposed legislation to give watchdog more powers are needed now

Bill Shorten has talked tough about the criminals rorting the NDIS. Now he has proposed new legislation to help catch them quicker. They can’t come soon enough, writes Julie Cross.

ANALYSIS

Bill Shorten’s plan to speed up the process of investigating crooks within the NDIS is very much needed because quite simply the scheme won’t be sustainable otherwise.

On Monday, Mr Shorten proposed new legislation to allow the NDIS watchdog more powers to track down fraudsters who are ripping off the $44 billion scheme, and to be able to directly refer allegations to police for criminal investigation.

Despite all the money that has been made available to stamp out crime within the disability scheme, it seems things are not moving fast enough for Mr Shorten or perhaps a cynical public.

He says 200 providers have been permanently banned from working in the NDIS.

When an estimated $1 billion is being rorted from the scheme, and millions of dollars is being spent on catching the crooks, that doesn’t seem like a huge number.

The NDIS is being rorted ‘north of $1 billion’ a year. Picture: Mark Wilson

And, not all on the list are NDIS rogues either. Some have never even worked in the sector.

Take the case of a GP, who has never provided services to anyone on the NDIS scheme, received any money via the scheme and claimed he had no intention of doing so.

He was put on the list following a conviction of attempting to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception in relation to another matter.

Others are on the list after being banned from the health or aged care sectors.

It was Mr Shorten’s idea to get agencies to share information, so people who are penalised in one sector, cannot easily move to another. That’s a good thing.

Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill Shorten plan for tougher NDIS laws “can’t come soon enough”, writes Julie Cross. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

During his tenure the number of people who have been temporarily banned from working in the NDIS has also increased.

Some of them, who are still going through the courts, may eventually be permanently banned if convicted.

Mr Shorten’s crack team of fraud investigators is also making a difference, stopping $75 million worth of payments to NDIS criminals in just four months.

While that’s great news, it is a frightening figure, and just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the crooks are getting away with.

Mr Shorten, who last month announced he was quitting politics, has said he still has lots of work to do.

He told the media on Monday, the only way the NDIS can be here for “generations to come is to run the bad guys out of town”.

He wants these legislative proposals to be made law next year.

They can’t come soon enough.

Originally published as Bill Shorten’s new proposed legislation to give watchdog more powers are needed now