Submission 230
SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
25/05/2026
Re: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment — Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill
To Committee Members, I am writing as an independent NDIS Support Coordinator who works every day with participants, families, carers, providers, plan managers, LACs and the NDIA. I support genuine reform. I support stronger safeguards. I support stopping fraud. I support protecting participants from providers who exploit the system and take advantage of vulnerable people.
What I do not support is reform that punishes legitimate Support Coordinators while participants are left more exposed to harm.
If the purpose of this Bill is to protect the future of the NDIS, then it must recognise the real work that Support Coordinators do every day. Support Coordination is not just “linking people to services”. It is one of the few practical safeguards many participants have between them and system failure, unsafe providers, financial abuse, service collapse and crisis.
The NDIS already has pathways to report issues and complaints about providers through the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. My concern is that participants often need a skilled person beside them to identify the issue, understand the risk, gather the evidence and act before the situation becomes worse. In fact, it took over 12 months for the fraud department to respond to my report submitted to them back in early 2025. Even that was a general acknowledgement of receiving my report. I still don’t know if they have actioned anything at all as this particular company is still abusing participants plans.
THIS IS WHY FRAUD CONTINUES!
A day in the life of an independent Support Coordinator (Me)
- 8:00am — I start the day checking urgent emails, text messages, cancelled shifts, provider issues, plan manager queries and participant crises.
- 8:30am — I review overnight messages from families who are exhausted, scared or completely overwhelmed because supports have fallen over.
- 9:00am — I call the NDIA. This is a daily occurrence. I am often following up S100 internal reviews and Change of Situation requests that are already over the expected timeframe.
Submission 230
SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
This is where the system failure becomes very clear. Before I can even discuss the participant’s situation, the operator often cannot find the consent to share information form. I am then placed on hold while they search. This can take 20 minutes or more. Three weeks ago, I was on hold for 55 minutes while the operator tried to locate my consent to share form. They eventually found it. That time is not free. It is not harmless. It comes out of the participant’s limited Support Coordination budget. Why is the consent to share form not front and centre for customer service staff? It is the first document they need when a Support Coordinator calls. If it cannot be located quickly, the participant pays the price.
This is not good enough.
10:00am — I explain NDIS plans to participants and families who do not understand what has been funded or how to use it. Many participants cannot read a plan and turn it into practical supports. Many do not understand categories, budgets, service agreements, claims, provider obligations or review rights.
11:00am — I chase therapy reports, functional assessments, quotes, invoices, service agreements and evidence for plan reviews. Without this work, many participants would miss review deadlines or fail to provide the evidence needed to access essential supports.
12:00pm — I deal with plan managers about invoices, budget issues and questionable claims. This work helps prevent overspending, misuse of funds and providers charging incorrectly.
1:00pm — I attend meetings with participants, families, schools, hospitals, allied health professionals, housing providers, LACs and NDIA staff.
2:00pm — I help participants find safe and suitable providers. This is not just administration. This is safeguarding. When a participant has cognitive disability, psychosocial disability, trauma, communication difficulties, poor literacy or no informal support, they are at serious risk of being pushed toward unsafe workers or providers who see them as easy money, in fact, just like an ATM.
3:00pm — I respond to service breakdowns. A support worker cancels. A provider withdraws. A family member burns out. A participant is left without food, transport, personal care or community access.
4:00pm — I write risk summaries, Change of Situation requests, S100 submissions and provider evidence. This work is detailed, time consuming and often done under pressure because the participant is already in crisis.
5:00pm — I support families who have been sent links by LACs and told to work it out themselves. Or, they can’t speak to their LAC unless an appointment is made for 2 – 3 weeks time.
This is one of the biggest issues I want the Committee to understand.
SASHA SACHS – EMPOWRING YOUR LIFE 2
Submission 230
SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Many participants do not have the capacity to action a link. They may not understand the language. They may not have the confidence to call providers. They may not know what questions to ask. They may not know when a provider is overcharging or behaving inappropriately. They may not be able to compare options or understand risk.
Sending a link is not support.
e: I make unpaid calls because someone is distressed and there is no one else to help. This is common. Support Coordinators do unpaid work all the time because participants are screaming out for help and the funded hours do not match the actual need.
e: I rebuild rosters when support workers cancel. I help families work out who is coming, when they are coming and whether the participant will be safe.
e: I review provider issues and red flags. I look at whether a participant is being overcharged. I question whether services match the participant’s goals. I check if supports are actually being delivered.
e: I document incidents, risks and service gaps. If it is not documented, it often does not exist in the eyes of the system.
e: I prepare for the next day’s meetings, appointments, transport arrangements and support shifts.
e: I finish unpaid administration because the work does not fit neatly into the funded hours. This is the part the Committee needs to hear clearly: Independent Support Coordinators are already holding together a system that is under pressure.
The impact of Support Coordination cuts
Cutting or restricting Support Coordination will not stop fraud. It will remove one of the few safeguards participants actually have.
Participants will be at greater risk of:
- Financial exploitation
- Unsafe providers
- Overcharging
- Poor quality supports
- Service gaps
- Being pressured into unsuitable services
- Not understanding their rights
- Missing review deadlines
- Losing access to supports they need
- Crisis escalation
SASHA SACHS – EMPOWRING YOUR LIFE 3
Submission 230
SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
A participant with strong family support, good literacy and confidence may be able to navigate some of the system alone. Most NDS participants cannot.
That is not a personal failure. That is the nature of disability.
The NDIS must not be designed around the assumption that everyone can self advocate, interpret policy, manage budgets, compare providers, challenge invoices and lodge reviews.
- Go after the providers abusing the system
- If providers are abusing the system, then go after those providers.
- If there is fraud, investigate it.
- If there is overcharging, stop it.
- If there are unsafe providers exploiting vulnerable people, remove them.
But do not punish legitimate Support Coordinators who are trying to protect participants from exactly those risks. Support Coordinators are often the people who notice when something is wrong. We see the invoices. We hear the participant’s concerns. We notice when a provider is not delivering what they promised. We identify when a participant is being manipulated or ignored.
If you cut us out, participants lose that layer of protection.
Registration and audit costs:
I support registration for Support Coordinators. I believe registration can improve accountability, quality and participant safety. But the cost of audits is a real barrier for small independent providers. Many of us are not large organisations with corporate backing. We do not make large profits. We work long hours. We carry risk. We absorb unpaid work. We stay in the sector because we care about our clients and about billable hours.
If registration becomes mandatory, then the audit process must be fair, proportionate and affordable for sole traders and small providers. Otherwise, the system will push out experienced and ethical independent Support Coordinators while larger providers survive because they can absorb the cost. This will reduce participant choice. It will also remove the very people who often provide the most personalised support.
Final message to the Committee:
- I am frustrated and I am sad for NDIS participants.
- I am frustrated that participants pay from their plans while Support Coordinators sit on hold because consent forms cannot be located.
- I am frustrated that overdue S100 reviews and Change of Situation requests require constant follow up.
- I am frustrated that families are sent links when they need human support.
- I am frustrated that legitimate Support Coordinators are being spoken about as if we are the problem when many of us are the people preventing participants from falling through the cracks.
SASHA SACHS – EMPOWRING YOUR LIFE 4
Submission 230
SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Please do not design reform that looks good on paper but fails in real life.
Protect participants by strengthening safeguards, targeting fraudulent providers and keeping skilled independent Support Coordination available.
Participants need more than links.
They need people who know them, understand the system and are willing to fight for their
SAFETY, DIGNITY AND RIGHTS.
Thank you for listening.
Sasha Sachs Support Coordinator Empowering Your Life
SASHA SACHS – EMPOWRING YOUR LIFE 5