NDIS banned list: Australians and businesses named in 2023
A doctor, a disability worker and a manager of a home for the disabled; these are some of the people banned from providing services to people on the NDIS. See who they are.
A new crack team hunting down those cheating the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has investigated $1 billion in payments as it works to weed out fraudsters.
There are currently 43 active NDIS fraud cases, up from 28 in September 2021, with an estimated fraud value of $35 million.
The Fraud Fusion Taskforce led by the NDIS and Services Australia is currently investigating $356.5 million in NDIS payments.
There are also 18 NDIS prosecutions in progress with an alleged fraud value of $18.3 million.
Services Australia has 35 active investigations.
“The taskforce is achieving encouraging results, investigating more than 100 cases in the past 12 months with over $1 billion of NDIS funding under investigation over that time,” NDIS Minister Bill Shorten MP said.
He warned the Government had made NDIS fraud a focus and because of the taskforce there was “now increased sharing of information across government, which means more eyes looking for and catching any crook looking to earn a quick buck from the NDIS, while better protecting the funding of our participants”.
“We can identify patterns of unethical behaviour and then put mechanisms in place to stop those actions occurring in the future, making it harder to do the wrong thing and easier to do the right thing – which will future-proof the integrity of the scheme and help ensure it is here for generations to come.”
The public was also getting on-board, with the taskforce receiving more than 17,200 tip offs in the most recent financial year, up 78 per cent from the same period in the previous year.
Minister Shorten said the Government had made the issue of fraud against the NDIS a focus.
“Anyone looking to exploit the scheme – at the expense of Australians living with disability – should be warned,” he said. “We have cracked down on fraud so if you run the gauntlet, you will be caught.”
The NDIS watchdog is also taking a tough stance in some instances, banning people who have never worked on the NDIS or shown any intention of doing so.
A doctor, a disability worker and the manager of a home for the disabled are among an updated list of people banned from working with NDIS clients this year.
They are among nearly 100 people or businesses that have been black-listed from providing NDIS services in 2023.
The bans vary in nature, length and arise from a range of conduct.
BANNED PERMANENTLY (CONVICTED)
Dr George Abou-Hatoum, Strathfield, Sydney
The Western Sydney GP, who promotes his charitable deeds on his own website, was banned permanently on October 9 from providing supports or services to NDIS clients.
He pleaded guilty in December 2020 of attempting to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.
He was fined $1000 and sentenced to a Conditional Release Order for a period of 18 months at Bankstown Local Court.
On the doorstep of his home he said it was “upsetting” to see his name on the list, as he had never provided services to anyone on the NDIS scheme, received any money via the scheme and had no intention of doing so.
Dr Abou-Hatoum said it must be linked to his previous conviction, and said he just wanted to concentrate on continuing his work as a GP.
On his website it shows his involvement in many charity events, including a tandem parachute jump, alongside health articles.
Andreas Gerasimos Strepelias, of Bentleigh East Victoria
This fraudster was given a three-year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to two charges of dishonestly causing a loss to a Commonwealth entity in a Victorian court last month.
He claimed more than $191,000 as an approved NDIS provider over two months for work he never actually undertook.
He was banned on October 20 from providing NDIS services for 10 years.
Scott Alexander Horton, Townsville, Queensland
The former nurse pleaded guilty to grooming a 13-year-old boy by giving him drugs and alcohol and exposing him to pornography, between November 2017 and July 2018.
Horton, in his 40s, appeared before a local court where his barrister said Horton lacked insight and self awareness.
He was banned permanently from working with NDIS clients on September 27.
Daffyd John Knox, Victoria
The disability worker who was employed with Scope for nearly 25 years, pleaded guilty to downloading more than 300 images of child porn, including pictures of kids as young as six. He was permanently prohibited from being involved in the provision of supports and services to people with disability on September 4.
BANNED PERMANENTLY (NO CHARGES)
Parvinder Kaur, from Victoria
A former manager of two homes for the disabled, Sydenham Grace and Gracemanor, was permanently banned from working with NDIS clients on October 27.
It follows allegations of poor accommodation and bad food at the two homes, which have since closed.
Photos from the homes were produced at the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, showing filthy rooms, stained mattresses, broken furniture and padlocked doors.
Ms Kaur has previously strongly denied any wrongdoing in media reports.
Pradeep Divakar, from Melton South, Victoria
The former director of Gracemanor, claimed on the home’s website to have had a significant career in both the commercial and health sectors and “a long history of working with and advocating for those facing challenges and barriers to a magnificent, ordinary life”.
However, the Royal Commission heard that when the state took over the running of Gracemanor, the bedrooms were allegedly found to be “foul-smelling” and the front door was padlocked at night.
It was also alleged that just $2 was being spent on food per person a day.
Mr Divakar was permanently banned from providing NDIS services on October 2.
See the full list of people and businesses who have been banned in 2023 below:
Originally published as NDIS banned list: Australians and businesses named in 2023
Fed govt threatens social media giants with $50m fines
The Albanese government will introduce tough new laws to ban kids under 16 from social media platforms and companies found breaching the laws face massive fines.
Dad killed on ‘happiest day of his life’
A father who had just won custody of his children was killed when he was allegedly run down in a rampage in Perth’s east on Tuesday.