The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the NDIA are taking action to safeguard people with disability in the Northern Territory from exploitation by unscrupulous NDIS providers.
Investigations are underway into concerns some providers have offered cash, alcohol, cigarettes and other inducements to pressure participants into signing up, and then claimed funds for services not delivered.
Concerns also include participants being asked to sign agreements they did not understand.
The NDIA and NDIS Commission are clear that these practices are extremely serious and utterly unacceptable.
The NDIS Commission has:
- executed 8 investigative warrants in the NT between September and December 2025, in response to complaints of provider or worker wrongdoing*
- conducted over 50 site visits in the NT between September and December 2025, including both provider offices and participant homes where NDIS supports are delivered, in response to risks identified through regulatory intelligence
- led a targeted campaign to improve quality, safeguarding and consumer independence for First Nations communities which spoke directly with participants, advocates and frontline disability workers in the NT.
The NDIA has:
- Critically examined more than 1,000 public tip-offs related to 145 providers operating in the NT in the past three years.
- Identified 20 providers servicing NT participants for serious compliance action including Fraud Fusion Taskforce criminal investigation and multi-agency administrative measures.
- Targeted unscrupulous providers moving into the NT market from Melbourne and Sydney, including by manually checking all claims before payment. In most cases, these providers have been permanently removed from the NDIS.
Fraud Fusion Taskforce investigators this week executed warrants at multiple Darwin locations after a multi-agency operation identified an NDIA employee allegedly used his position to refer NDIS participants to his own provider business.
The Darwin man appeared in court charged with five offences related to $5 million in suspicious NDIS claims that carry jail terms of up to 10 years.
NDIA investigations have shown there is a strong link between providers making "incentive" or "referral" payments and fraud.
When the Agency identifies providers offering incentives or engaging in high pressure sales tactics, quick action is taken - including stopping payments to suspect providers, conducting manual payment reviews and referring matters for fraud investigation.
These actions ensure payments are not made until the NDIA is satisfied the claims and providers are legitimate.
