Australian Disability Network claims it was an error to name and give Cocoon SDA Care gold membership
A disability peak body proudly announced that a controversial NDIS provider was one of its new gold members, but now claims it was a mistake.
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Exclusive: A scandal hit NDIS company which has been temporarily suspended from operating due to concerns for the safety of participants, was given gold member status by a peak body in error.
In the Australian Disability Network’s newsletter published on Thursday it welcomed Cocoon SDA Care as its newest gold member, despite it being under investigation by government agencies, and a high profile Federal Court battle with the National Disability Insurance Agency this week.
Gold membership with the peak body for disability providers costs $12,650 a year.
On the website it promotes its membership as “an opportunity to build, connect and check your disability inclusion goals alongside a network of over 450 of Australia’s leading businesses and institutions”.
NDIS whistleblower Tanya-Lee Quinn, a former CEO with Cocoon SDA Care said she found it “deeply inappropriate that Cocoon has spent $12,650 on essentially branding and sponsorship”.
“This is happening, while Cocoon is behind on tax and allegedly failing to meet basic financial obligations including unpaid wages and mounting debts to investors and the ATO,” Ms Quinn said.
When asked for comment on why Cocoon SDA Care was give gold member status, a spokeswoman from the National Disability Network said the announcement was made in error.
“We have not approved their membership,” the spokeswoman said.
“An error in our application processes automatically listed SDA Cocoon Care, despite no approval being granted. We are currently investigating how the error occurred.”
Financial reports showed that parent company Horizon SolSolutions, which claims $50 million in NDIS payments from the government every year, owed the taxpayer almost $10 million.
Scores of staff have also claimed they have not been paid wages for weeks and are missing superannuation payments.
The company said the payments had been delayed.
The agency running the NDIS also alleged in court papers that the business was not providing supports in line with participants’ plans and that it had also allegedly claimed NDIS payments on behalf of prisoners and dead people.
Earlier this month the watchdog suspended the registration of Cocoon SDA Care’s parent company Horizon SolSolutions for 30 days, after safety concerns were identified in site visits to properties housing NDIS participants.
It has caused turmoil for hundreds of vulnerable people who have had to find new providers, with some also having to move home.
The agency is currently withholding payments owed to the company for NDIS services already provided, while the company undergoes a manual audit.
The company, whose sole director is Muhammad Latif, took the National Disability Insurance Agency to the Federal Court saying the grounds for withholding NDIS payments for services already provided were “unreasonable”.
In court papers, Mr Latif had said in a letter that “there had been administrative failures and honest mistakes in relation to a small subset of claims”.
He said fraud was a very serious allegation to make, and was not supported by the evidence.
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