Cocoon SDA Care: Ex-CEO told Bill Shorten’s office and NDIS watchdog about Cocoon SDA Care in 2023
A former CEO employed by embattled NDIS provider Cocoon SDA Care, claims she raised the alarm about the company with Bill Shorten’s office — but it was allowed to continue to operate.
The NDIS watchdog and Bill Shorten’s office knew of a bombshell dossier about troubled disability business Cocoon SDA Care in 2023 and yet the company was allowed to continue looking after some of Australia’s most vulnerable people for almost two years.
Last Wednesday Cocoon’s parent company Horizon SolSolutions was slapped with a temporary ban on looking after some NDIS participants due to welfare concerns, resulting in up to 438 participants needing to find new providers and some having to move.
Whistleblower Tanya-Lee Quinn, who was employed as CEO of Cocoon SDA Care for less than a week in August 2023 alleges she was hired to “fix” the financial mess of the business.
However, after she raised a long list of concerns with the company, Ms Quinn claims she was escorted off the premises, but not before downloading explosive evidence first.
“I walked out and reported them that week, refusing to be complicit in what was clearly a scam,” Ms Quinn alleged in an exclusive interview.
“I reported the scheme to Minister Bill Shorten, ASIC, the ATO, and the NDIS Commission.
“And still — they allowed Cocoon to continue trading. For years.”
She claimed multiple senior executives had also reported issues directly to the NDIS Commission years before she arrived.
Cocoon SDA’s corporate strategist Zaffar Khan denied that Ms Quinn had been sacked for raising concerns about the company’s operations.
“She was only appointed for a few days and while the circumstances around her employment ending with us are private, I reject that allegation,” he said.
This masthead has seen Ms Quinn’s messages to Mr Shorten’s LinkedIn page and messages from his office. Mr Shorten has since taken up a $860,000 a year job as vice-chancellor at the University of Canberra.
“I am writing to you to request an urgent meeting with you and your staff as I believe that I have uncovered the largest NDIS scam to date,” Ms Quinn alleged on August 4, 2023.
“This will impact thousands of Australians.
“I am the CEO of Cocoon SDA Care (just appointed on Monday) with between 1000-1600 staff and hundreds of occupied Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) homes and a turnover of 50 million plus.”
When Ms Quinn messaged Mr Shorten, his office responded and arranged for her to have a meeting with the watchdog and spent hours speaking to investigators.
Ms Quinn continued to push for action.
This week she claimed the company “was a cash-flow siphon dressed up as a care service, backed by glossy PR and protected by regulatory inaction”.
In March the National Disability Insurance Agency withheld payments for services while they investigated the company.
As a result some staff were not paid for weeks and last week Horizon took the agency to the Federal Court to force it to release funds. A decision has not yet been made.
Mr Khan said the Commission’s actions have caused terrible disruption to more than 1200 staff, and around 200 vulnerable people.
He defended the company as caring and said it remained “dedicated to acting in the best interests of our participants at all times”.
Ms Quinn, a single mum, said there was a lack of support for whistleblowers and that she had to borrow $25,000 from her parents following the episode.
The NDIS Commission and Mr Shorten declined to comment.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission suspended the registration of Horizon SolSolutions, which trades as Cocoon SDA Care, for 30 days last week.
“NDIS Commission officers recently conducted targeted site visits and identified serious safeguarding concerns,” acting deputy commissioner Mahashini Krishna said.
“The site visits also confirmed information the NDIS Commission had received recently from several concerned persons.
“The NDIS Commission is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of NDIS participants and will not tolerate misconduct by providers that puts participants at risk,” Ms Krishna said.
The suspension prohibits Horizon from providing National Disability Insurance Scheme services. It’s understood the commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency are working together to ensure participants are not adversely affected.
Cocoon’s website says it has more than 600 specialist disability homes across all states and territories.
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Originally published as Cocoon SDA Care: Ex-CEO told Bill Shorten’s office and NDIS watchdog about Cocoon SDA Care in 2023
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