You may have seen in the news this month there have been court proceedings around suspected fraud against the NDIS. Also, in March this year a syndicate in NSW allegedly cheated $1.1M from NDIS participants and bought luxury cars with the funds.
Back in July 2018, the Minister for Social Services (Dan Tehan) announced the creation of an the NDIS Fraud Task force to prevent and combat fraud against the NDIS and the NDIA. The task force has a focus on high risk and serious criminal activity that may be potentially targeting the NDIS Participants.
A Dedicated Fraud Reporting Hotline operated by the NDIA was also established to report any suspicions of fraud committed by Service Providers, Participants or NDIA Staff/Local Area Coordinators.
What to Report regarding Participants?
- Using NDIS plan funds for non-disability supports
- Claims for services that may also be claimed through the Medicare and the Health System
- Suspicion of Family, Friends or Carers accessing NDIS funds for their personal use
- Individuals falsifying their identity and other details to gain access to the Scheme
What to Report regarding Service Providers?
- Falsification of invoices
- Having unqualified support staff providing services
- Using NDIA or NDIS branding to mislead Participants
- Under-servicing a Participant (for example: charging for one hour, but only delivering 40 minutes of support)
- Altering the dates of supports provided to increase the rate charged to a participants plan (for example: charging a weekend rate on a weekday)
- Claiming for supports that didn’t occur
- Charging one-to-one rates for supports delivered in a group
- Charging unreasonable amounts for travel
How do I report Fraud?
By phoning the Fraud Reporting hotline on 1800 650 717 or by emailing [email protected]. You can find more information on reporting suspected fraud on the NDIS website.