NDIA Accountability Project

This project is in DRAFT

NDIS fraud investigations and prosecutions (Individual advocacy)

‹ PrevPage 1 of 3 · Source p. 1Next ›

Submission 2770 - Supplementary Submission

/j~~~ NDIS Fraud

-.'"      FACT CHECKED          'L;11

The myth: NDIS has lost billions to fraud! The facts: From 2022 (when the Fraud Fusion Taskforce was established) to March 2026, 25 cases of NDIS fraud have resulted in successful prosecutions, and the proven fraud value from these cases is over $17 million. 2 of the 25 cases were related to improper use of information (one by an NDIA employee), rather than monetary fraud. Eighteen cases involved restitutions (fines or reparations), worth $3.5 million. In at least two cases, the court also seized assets (incl. multi-million dollar properties). The sources: (1) Document 4, page 9- 10 of: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_lnsurance_Scheme/N DISlntegrity/Additional_Documents?docType=Answer%20to%20Question%20on%20Notice (2) PDF page 38 of: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parllnfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=ld%3A%22committees%2Fcommjnt%2 F29581%2F0000%22

’t,,,,.

N DIS Fraud -           ~0~                       01-.'"

FACT CHECKED

The myth: NDIS has lost billions to fraud! - continued. The facts: There are more fraud investigations ‘in the pipeline’. As of March 2026, the Fraud Fusion Taskforce was leading 235 individual investigations and 62 operations on fraud in the NDIS (=297). We do not yet know how many of these will be prosecuted. In one recent case, an NDIA employee was charged, with suspected fraud worth $5 million. It is good that the Australian government is fighting fraud, and trying to introduce measures that make the scheme less susceptible to fraud. But is that Labor’s only interest in NDIS fraud, or are they exaggerating fraud as a political tactic? More on that later… The sources: (1) Page 3-4 of document 4 at https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_lnsurance_Scheme/N DISlntegrity/Additional_Documents?docType=Answer%20to%20Question%20on%20Notice (2) https://cheekmedia.substack.com/p/labor-is-manufacturing-an-ndis-crisis (3) https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/nt/darwin-ndia-employee-allegedly·defrauded·ndis·S-million dollars-suspicious-claims-20260219-pSo3kk.html

1

Submission 2770 - Supplementary Submission

/j~~~ N DIS Fraud

-.'"      FACT CHECKED          'L;11

The myth: NDIS has lost billions to fraud! - continued. The facts: Sometimes, when Labor are asked about the scale of fraud in the NDIS, they give a “leakage” figure in the billions (with estimates varying wildly, but $Sb being one recent claim). This is a misleading figure, as leakage figures include not only fraud but also errors, claims with insufficient evidence, and honest mistakes. NDIA Deputy CEO John Dardo admitted to the Senate, “only a very tiny amount would be (fraud) cases that have gone to prosecution”. It seems there is little evidence that backs up claims in the media that NDIS has lost billions to fraud. There is evidence of NDIS losing millions to fraud, and that’s not good - we would rather see it be $0. But keep in mind that a million is only one thousandth of a billion - meaning the difference between the proven level of fraud and the media headlines is massive.

The sources: (1) https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/260604-are-we-being-misled-about-ndis·fraud-yes-we-are (2) https://teamdsc.com.au/resources/have-we-been-misled-about-ndis-fraud

NDIS Fraud -

FACT CHECKED

The myth: Most NDIS providers are fraudulent! The facts: Mr Butler said in August 2025 that there are “over 260,000 NDIS service providers”. Putting the fraud numbers and participant numbers together, that equates to:

2

Submission 2770 - Supplementary Submission

}b'"-      NDIS Fraud -            0  ....

01                                                                "'....    FACT CHECKED  @

The myth: There is more fraud in NDIS than other government agencies The facts:

  • A recent article comparing ‘leakage’ rates in the NDIS to fraud rates in Business (e.g. tax lost due to businesses doing “cash jobs”), and found that the latter was much higher.

  • ANPA compared fraud rates in Medicare to an NDIS fraud rate of 0.04% (citing FFT data of $200m fraud out of a $44 billion NDIS budget). They concluded that fraud in Medicare is higher than in NDIS - yet Australian’s aren’t being told to cut up their Medicare cards as a result, the way NDIS participants are having their supports cut!

The sources: (1) https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/26O63O-business-tax-fraud-is-worse-than-ndis-fraud disabled-people-are-paying·the·price

(2) Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association


    1              ~             '"'"      FACT CHECKED

The myth: NOIA hasn't invested much in looking for fraud The facts: As of October 2025, the Government has invested more than $550 million to build NDIS integrity and grow compliance. This includes:

- $345.3 million in the Crack Down on Fraud program,
- $152.8 million to create the Fraud Fusion Taskforce
- $56 million to fund the NDIA's payment integrity review workforce.
The Fraud Fusion Taskforce is looking through 20,000 high risk NDIS claims per month. While this is only a fraction of the total NDIS claim numbers, they are making progress.

The sources: ill https://www.ndis.gov.au/news/10956-86-million·dodgy-ndis-claims·blocked

3

<!-- source-release-page: 4 -->

<a id="source-page-4"></a>

## Source release page 4

Submission 2770 - Supplementary Submission

/j~~~ N DIS Fraud

    -.'"      FACT CHECKED          'L;11

The myth: NOIA hasn't invested much in looking for fraud - cont. The facts:

- The government has spent $152.8 million creating the Fraud Fusion Taskforce (as at Oct 2025).
The Fraud Fusion Taskforce (FFT) was established in November 2022. It is co-led by NOIA and investigates fraud across 23 different government agencies.

- The 2026-27 Budget includes another $280.1 million over five years from 2025-26 (and $53
million per year ongoing) to continue the Fraud Fusion Taskforce and NDIA's response to fraud and non-compliant payments.

- The CEO of the FFT earns over $508,000 per year.
The sources: (1) https://www.ndis.gov.au/news/10956-86-million-dodgy-ndis·claims·blocked (2) Page 121 of Budget Paper 2, https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/portfolio-budget-papers

### (3) Remuneration figure: Australian Government Transparency Panel

### NDIS Fraud -

### FACT CHECKED

The figures($ millions): The myth: NOIA Integrity and Compliance - Total expenses incl. FFT, to Oct 2025 has saved more than they've Fraud Fusion Taskforce (FFT) only - Expenses to Oct 2025 spent by looking for fraud. Proven value of the 25 fraud convictons to March 2026 Restitutions (money repaid as fines or reparations, to March 2026)) I

    The sources:                                                                                    0  100 200 300 400 500 600

(ll Document 4, page 10 of: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_lnsurance_Scheme/N DISlntegrity/Additional_Documents?docType=Answer%20to%20Question%20on%20Notice (2) PDF page 38 of: ttps://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parllnfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=ld%3A%22committees%2Fcommjnt°/o2F 29581%2F0000%22

4

<!-- source-release-page: 5 -->

<a id="source-page-5"></a>

## Source release page 5

Submission 2770 - Supplementary Submission

/j~~~ NDIS Fraud

    -.'"      FACT CHECKED          'L;11

The myth: Unregistered providers are more likely to commit fraud. The facts: Mr Butler said in August 2025 that there are " over 260,000 N DIS service providers, only 16,000 of which are NDIS registered" - meaning only 1 in 16 providers are registered. Despite this, among those NDIA are investigating for potential fraud, registered providers feature 2.6x more often than non-registered providers. There were "39 registered providers, 15 unregistered providers and 77 individual persons of interest involved." The sources: (1) https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/minister-butler-the-australian financial-review-thursday-21-august-2025 (2) Document 4, page 7 of: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_lnsurance_Scheme/N DISlntegrity/Additional_Documents?docType=Answer%20to%20Question%20on%20Notice

/j~~~ N DIS Fraud

    1                                              '"      FACT CHECKED         'L;1

The myth: Labor has nothing to gain by exaggerating or spotlighting fraud The facts: When the government created the NDIS, they under-estimated the numbers of eligible participants. They planned on 410,000, but since then, numbers have grown to over 761,000. The total cost of the NDIS has likewise increased over time, and was expected to cost $46.2 billion in 2025-26. Labor would like this figure to drop (whether or not that is because they now need to find some $268-368 billion for AU KUS over the next 30 years). Labor had (and has) a clear objective to remove considerable funding from the NDIS, both by reducing participant numbers and plan sizes, but needed to consider how could they convince the Australian public, and MP's voting on legislation changes, that removing supports from people with disabilities is a good plan. The sources: (1) https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/budget-2025·26-strengthening-the-national-disability-insurance scheme-html (2) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/28/ndis-document-reveals-241000-disability-participants cut-in-four-years

5

<!-- source-release-page: 6 -->

<a id="source-page-6"></a>

## Source release page 6

Submission 2770 - Supplementary Submission

### NDIS Fraud -

### FACT CHECKED

The myth: Labor has nothing to gain by exaggerating or spotlighting fraud - cont. The facts: Enter Red Bridge, a consulting/polling company. NDIA commissioned Red Bridge to investigate how the Australian public perceive the NDIS, and what factors would increase our society's tolerance for major changes (cuts) to the NDIS. Red Bridge's reports found that many Australians strongly valued the NDIS at the time (2023), and that emphasising the cost of the NDIS alone would not shift that perspective, but that "decisions to 'restrict either eligibility for the scheme ... or the amount of support high-need participants would receive' could be met with 'qualified tolerance' by participants and their families if these proposals were sold in concert with a 'believable story' about fraud and rorting." The sources: (1) https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2024/07/27/ndis-media-strategy-briefing-given-before-review finished (2)https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/11914/response/39139/attach/ll/FOl%2024.25%200265%20Decision%20D ocuments.pdf?cookie_passthrough=l

~~~~ NDIS Fraud

### ~l'-      FACT CHECKED

The myth: Labor has nothing to gain by exaggerating or spotlighting fraud - cont. The facts: We have since seen a barrage of negative media about the NDIS, often citing dubious figures of fraud, and including statements by NDIS ministers (past and present) that feature cherry-picked NDIS data and hurl insults at NDIS providers, using terms like "shonky", "fraudsters", "dodgy" and "cowboys" - despite the vast majority of providers being honest and ethical people who work hard to provide therapy and care for people with disabilities on a daily basis. It's almost like Labor are trying to drive a wedge between participants and the people that look after them, perhaps in an effort to reduce the (very much warranted) backlash against Labor passing bills that are all about reducing, or completely removing, supports from people with disabilities. For example, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) published 68 articles about the NDIS between May 2025 and March 2026 alone. 73% of those framed the scheme as wasteful, fraudulent, or economically unsustainable. Only one of the 68 articles centred the voice of an actual NDIS participant. (Note: The AFR is not the only media body reporting on the NDIS, but is one example.)

Source: A media search and data compilation by an allied health professional.

6

<!-- source-release-page: 7 -->

<a id="source-page-7"></a>

## Source release page 7

Submission 2770 - Supplementary Submission

~~;;-:. N DIS Fraud

    ~      1\~      FACT CHECKED

The myth: It doesn't matter if fraud is exaggerated. The facts: We are not against fighting fraud - we wish there was no fraud going on at all. But if the Labor government have intentionally exaggerated fraud in the NDIS for the purpose of convincing members of parliament, and Australian's in general, that cuts to the NDIS are a good thing - that matters. It matters because it is deceit on a national scale, and it matters because NDIS cuts will harm (and already are harming) NDIS participants. If MP's vote for passing the 2026 NDIS Amendment Bill because they have a concept in mind that "it's needed because of fraud", they are missing the fact that Treasury modelling shows that only 2.3% of the $38.1 billion that they wish to remove from the NDIS will come from fighting fraud. For the other 97.7%, it's people with disabilities who will be paying the price - with approx. 1 in every 3 people to be removed from or prevented from joining the NDIS, and the remaining 2 in 3 to experience less funding for disability supports. The sources: (1) https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/ 260604-are-we-being-misled-about-ndis-fraud-yes-we-are

7