Submission to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
Submitted by: Auscare Support
1. Introduction
Auscare Support welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit Inquiry into the administration of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
We are an experienced disability support organisation delivering Support Coordination and related services across Australia. Our work places us at the intersection of participants, families, providers, and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). As such, we have direct, daily exposure to the operational realities of the Scheme and the consequences of administrative failure.
This submission reflects both organisational experience and the lived experience of the participants we support. It is grounded in the knowledge that administrative inefficiencies, inconsistent processes, and underfunding do not merely create frustration—they have real, measurable impacts on the health, wellbeing, and independence of Australians with disability.
2. Chronic Delays in Plan Approvals and Reviews
One of the most significant administrative failures we encounter is the ongoing delay in plan approvals, plan reviews, and implementation of approved changes.
Participants routinely wait months for plans to be approved or varied. During this period, essential supports are delayed, service continuity breaks down, and participants and families experience heightened stress, risk, and uncertainty. Delays are particularly acute when plans involve complex needs, multiple providers, or high- risk supports.
These delays are systemic and persistent, undermining the core intent of the NDIS to provide timely, reasonable, and necessary supports. From an organisational perspective, delays create unsustainable operational pressures. Support Coordinators are forced to manage escalating risk without authority, funding certainty, or clear timelines, while being held accountable for outcomes outside their control.
3. Disregard for Allied Health Assessments
Auscare Support is deeply concerned by the systemic mishandling of professional assessments. Degree-qualified allied health professionals are engaged and paid substantial fees to assess participants’ needs and provide evidence-based recommendations.
All too often, these reports are lost, ignored, questioned, or even criticised, sometimes without rationale. This is unacceptable. The expertise of allied health professionals is vital for participant safety, wellbeing, and optimal outcomes. Disregarding or undermining these assessments not only jeopardises participant outcomes but represents a waste of resources and erodes trust in the Scheme.
4. Funding Cuts and Erosion of Participant Supports
Auscare Support has observed a consistent trend of funding reductions at plan reassessment, frequently without transparent justification or alignment with participant needs, complexity, or risk. Participants with stable or increasing support requirements are seeing reduced budgets, particularly in capacity building and intermediary supports.
These reductions shift risk onto participants, families, and frontline workers, while increasing downstream costs through crisis responses, hospitalisations, and service breakdowns. This focus on short-term financial containment undermines both participant outcomes and long-term Scheme sustainability.
5. Stagnation of Intermediary Funding
Intermediary supports, including Support Coordination, have not seen a meaningful funding increase in approximately six years, despite substantial increases in regulatory burden, administrative complexity, and risk exposure.
During this period, Support Coordinators are expected to:
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Manage increasingly complex participant situations
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Navigate frequent policy and procedural changes
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Absorb additional compliance, reporting, and risk responsibilities
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Act as de facto system navigators for failures elsewhere in the Scheme
The lack of investment in intermediary funding is unsustainable and undermines workforce morale, retention, and the capacity of providers to deliver high-quality, participant-centred services.
6. An Adversarial Administrative Culture
Perhaps most concerning is the adversarial relationship between the NDIA and the organisations it funds to deliver outcomes for participants. Providers increasingly feel they are in conflict rather than collaboration with the very department that funds them.
Every day, our teams feel as though they are going into battle to secure timely, appropriate supports for some of the most vulnerable people in our community. This culture diverts time and energy away from participant-centred work toward administrative survival, erodes trust, drives skilled professionals out of the sector, and undermines public confidence in the Scheme.
7. Moving Forward: Regulatory Oversight and Provider Registration
Auscare Support strongly supports robust regulatory checks and balances to ensure all NDIS providers meet minimum standards of safety, quality, and compliance. Participants must be able to have confidence in every provider they engage, regardless of location or service type.
We recommend a tiered approach to registration and compliance monitoring, calibrated to both the level of risk associated with the service and the complexity of support required by the participant:
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High-risk supports such as specialist therapy, complex health-related supports, or supported independent living would require full registration, regular audits, and enhanced reporting.
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Moderate-risk supports could be subject to periodic review, targeted audits, and ongoing compliance monitoring.
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Low-risk supports, particularly those of lower intensity or administrative nature, could follow a streamlined registration pathway.
This risk-based approach balances participant safety and quality assurance with accessibility and sustainability for providers. Regulatory oversight should be proportionate, transparent, and targeted, supporting providers to meet standards rather than creating unnecessary administrative burden.
8. Conclusion and Call for Reform
The issues outlined in this submission are not operational inconveniences, they represent fundamental administrative failures that compromise participant outcomes, workforce sustainability, and the long-term viability of the NDIS.
Auscare Support urges the Committee to consider:
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Enforceable timeframes for plan approvals and reviews
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Transparent and evidence-based decision-making for funding changes
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Immediate review and adjustment of intermediary pricing and funding models
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Recognition and action on allied health recommendations
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A shift from adversarial compliance to collaborative administration
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Stronger accountability for NDIA performance at a systems and Board level
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Implementation of a tiered, risk-based registration framework for providers
Without meaningful administrative reform, the NDIS risks continuing to fail the very people it was designed to support.
Auscare Support thanks the Committee for the opportunity to contribute and strongly encourages the inclusion of provider and participant lived experience in shaping the future administration of the Scheme.
Sincerely
Jo McIntyre
CEO
Auscare Support
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