NDIS short term accommodation providers marketing cruises and holidays caught in crackdown
An NDIS crackdown has caught out thousands of providers exploiting disabled Australians with promises of cruises and holidays funded through their care plans.
EXCLUSIVE: A crackdown on dodgy NDIS providers marketing cruises and holidays to participants has resulted in claims for short term accommodation dropping by more than $132 million in just 18 months.
More than 3,000 providers have left the scheme following the Albanese Government’s 10-month clamp down on unscrupulous operators exploiting the system designed to provide NDIS participants, their families or carers necessary short-term respite.
Care2Cruise was among the providers to leave the NDIS sector entirely following the crackdown.
The company’s website had promised to ensure “accessibility and inclusion” in their cruise holiday packages and advised participants to “give us a call to see how you can incorporate a journey with Care2Cruise into your plan”.
Claims for short term accommodation have declined by 47 per cent as of June this year compared to their peak in December 2023, new data released by Labor shows.
The compliance crackdown lead by the National Disbaility Insurance Agency (NDIA) targeted misleading advertising and inappropriate promotion of NDIS funds for holidays, cruises and travel.
The NDIA assessed 350 tip offs and sent 164 cease and desist letters to short term accommodation providers, while four entities identified as “problematic” were put on manual payment reviews.
A further 27 providers were referred to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) for false advertising suggesting NDIS funds could cover “all inclusive” holidays.
NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister said the government was determined to protect people with disability from “dodgy providers looking to drain their plans and abuse the NDIS”.
“This 10-month crackdown by the NDIA has helped us save more than $130m and get rid of many bad actors in the short term accommodation sector,” she said.
“We’re going to keep doing this kind of work to protect the interests of people with disability and uphold the integrity of our unique, world-leading NDIS.”
In the June quarter this year short term accommodation claims totalled $149m, down from $281m in December 2023.
Prior to the NDIA targeting the sector, claims had been growing at about 30 per cent per year with more than 20,600 providers receiving payment for services in 2023-24.
As part of the crackdown, more than 1,900 claims valued at $3.4m were reviewed, of which $2.2m worth were found to be non-compliant and subsequently cancelled.
Clear guidance for participants that came into effect in October last year now clearly state “cruises, holiday packages, holiday accommodation and airfares … passports, visa, activities and meals included in travel” are “not allowable NDIS supports”.
Originally published as NDIS short term accommodation providers marketing cruises and holidays caught in crackdown
