The Australian Government today is introducing significant legislative changes to the Parliament that will improve the quality of care and the safety of every Australian who receives support from the NDIS.
The changes are designed to protect NDIS participants from abuse, neglect, exploitation and fraud and to ensure the scheme is set up on a sustainable basis.
The bill will give greater powers the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to uphold the scheme's integrity and safety.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2025 will:
- Introduce tougher penalties for misconduct and unsafe practices, including tough new penalties for serious misconduct.
- Strengthen the monitoring, compliance and enforcement powers of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
- Broaden banning order powers to include auditors and consultants.
- Introduce anti-promotion orders to restrict unscrupulous providers from promoting products or services that undermine the integrity of the NDIS.
- Introduce a 90-day cooling off period for participants who want to leave the Scheme and make it easier to notify the NDIA.
The Bill also modernises NDIS claims, introducing mandated electronic claim forms to prevent fraud and abuse of the system at the expense of participants.
Families, carers and support networks of people with disability will benefit from this Bill as well, as it prevents bad actors from threatening the Scheme's integrity.
Under the current law, providers whose failures cause the death or serious injury of a participant under their care can be liable for a fine of just over $400,000. Under the proposed bill, a serious contravention of obligations could lead to a fine of over $16 million.
The bill also introduces criminal penalties, including jail, for serious contraventions of requirements to be registered and for failure to comply with a banning order.
Quotes attributable to NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister:
"Today the Government has introduced new legislation to ensure the NDIS is a disability support scheme, not a get rich quick scheme.
"Every single dollar spent on the NDIS should go to providing the highest quality care and safe support and services for people with disability.
"The NDIS must be sustainable, effective and must operate with integrity. Through our investments, we have uncovered rorts committed by shonks, bad actors and criminals who have exploited and neglected vulnerable Australians.
"This Bill establishes new powers to hold those shonks and criminals to account.
"Where we see fraud, too often we see violence, abuse and neglect. This isn't just about cracking down on the bad actors in the system, it's also about keeping NDIS participants safe.
"These are common sense measures that are ready to go. We also know there's more work to do.
"The Parliament now has the opportunity to pass this Bill and deliver a safer, better NDIS and support for Australians with disability."
