Dear NDIS Senate committee,
This is a very short intentional submission specifically about plan management.
I chose plan management as I thought I could have a much needed break as I was retired focus on my family and I didn’t want to be out of pocket as it’s a large plan.
I disagree on only allowing a few registered large companies to run plan management for the reasons i outlined below and we need to better protect participants and their carers. What has been put in place and proposed only protects the government and the businesses.
Registeration is a must but it should not be limited to only a few . Greed and profits predominate over servicing disabled people and their carers leaving them open to abuse . When you have a monopoly they are never run in the best interest of the client as I’ll show you below .
I spend every week keeping a very close eye and track of our large Ndis budget .
You do need to pay the niche services that do a better job more like when they were allowed to teach us how to use and manage our plans in the earlier NDIS days that should be brought back . Perhaps a shared roll by SC but SC do not know how to run budgets . With my lived experience I could manage all roles but I had a highly specialised trained professional position but very few people have my capabilities .
PM should be allowed to train their clients who are plan users instead of protecting themselves and their profits !
Partipants should have access to easy to read and accessible information on constant legislation changes and guidelines . They shouldn’t have to constantly depend on themselves usually reading up on the changes and rules on social media, from people who aren’t plan managers , and profit from us because they are the only ones who have access to NDIS staff and are on the NDIS committees . This open disabled people to more abuse .
I am lucky as I read and keep up with the policy. I used to have to keep up with global and local legislation and policy in my previous career but there are over 700k disabled people who are vulnerable and are easily led by misinformation provided by businessess who profits from their advantage . It is un ethical that the NDIS refers disabled people to these private business and it should be removed from the NDIS website .
I have worked in top listed multinational companies working on projects negotiating and keeping to budgets millions of dollars across the globe for years . I found myself having to do the same thing for our NDIS budget even though I am retired due to my situation and needing to care for my family on NDIS .
As a carer I should be paid by NDIS for my time . The government abuses our time and doesn’t appreciate what we do . Running a NDIS plan is full time and the government’s constant knee jerk reaction is to only allow large plan managers to do this which will lead to more abuse of disabled people . The NDIS NDIS legislation and rules are messy and hard to understand for the average person .
I’ve never seen companies manage someone else’s money so poorly and badly except in the disability sector . An industry that treats disabled people and families so badly like third class citizens . If this happened in my industry you would not exist yet it is the government that rewards the bad actors shonks and grifters .
My accountant does a better job. Honestly families should be allowed a accountant and book keeper in their plan to help them like they used to . You’ve removed that ability around 2019 so you can remove more choice and control from families . We genuinely want the plan money to work for us. I would like to see this reinstated back .
We signed up with a small customised plan manager from South Australia and they opened a office in my state .
The local staff were so kind, helpful , supportive and knowledgeable . Made our bad plan work for us .
These are the sort of niche customised services that I want to be our plan management choices .
They should be allowed to keep running on proviso internally they need to be more structured and better organised at how they operate and have proper processes and systems in place . NOT EVERYONE CAN RUN A BUSINESS LET ALONE A PLAN MANAGEMENT business . We see many mum and dad businessess fail they should not be allowed to fail with our plan money . The must have certification and accreditation .
Plan management should remain seperate it should not be allowed to run other NDIS businessess like SC , SDA, allied health , nurses etc
In SAHM aged care agency managed businessess review and control the recipients plan. They decide what is age related spending , how much the recipient can use for showers therapy transport meal support worker etc . This profits the business and the recipient doesn’t where companies can run other NDIS services as they become greedy and try to profit from everything . I’ve seen them restrict recipients on what they’re allowed to spend and prevent them from having the allied health and nurse care they need .
Our PM company started growing and taking our calls from all over the country . Not one person knew who we were and our case. These sort of call centres should not be allowed . We weren’t allowed to speak to the people in our state or the person who took our calls . They would not return our emails. Staff would continually give unsolicited advise and tell us to buy Disability items out of our own money and say
we’re liable for everything we spend ! We need better rights that protect participants and their carers .
Now that our PM is so big I’m constantly having to check every time up to 6 to 10 times with them before I purchase anything and then again in a few months time or when we need it again . There are also inconsistencies between plan manage businessess it should not be up to the PM what they will and won’t allow us to buy . I often check with other PM companies what they would allow for the same thing as we have to move from our PM . The response is highly varied . This must stop instead of being adversarial lac planners and integrity must be more open and transparent so disabled people know clearly what they can and can’t . They just not be penalised for asking NDIS a question and made agency managed or have their plan reassessed .
They will only allow us to buy from registered NDIS providers like fine motor tools when Amazon is cheaper and fit for purpose the registers provider product was not fit for purpose . On the other hand we can buy other items like continence and wipes from Coles Amazon and Officeworks if we wanted . Makes absolutely no sense . They would always say NDIS makes the rules but then NDIS say it’s ok .
They would not allow us to purchase items prescribed for 6 years by our therapists and finally directed by ART . So they’ve also breached our art directive . Depending on who you spoke to one PM service staff said yes, recheck with another it’s ok, recheck again still ok , then checked again (as I had a question I don’t want to be out of pocket again for hundreds and thousands) it was a NO , then complained to another person it’s a yes, then last person say you were never allowed ART directive or not . I give up !
I’ve done a rough audit and I’m out of pocket a few thousand dollars over the time we’ve been plan managed what family with disabilties on a pension can afford this ? Due to the plan manager not processing my invoices or another PM staff changed their mind , not through my own fault . I’ve not been reimbursed for meal prep and delivery , several adaptive safety items that were approved and we even had a OT letter. Quite a number of staff promised to sort it out because it was allowed and they didn’t. Now they’ve left . When I followed up again it’s now too late .
Carers and disabled people are constantly blamed and there’s a social media post saying plan managers have saved millions of dollars from being spent . It is because of the aforementioned issues we have with plan managers and because the in and out list and transition list was rushed through. Even continence products invoices was on the out list at one stage by our plan manager .
This PM company also overly uses AI to process invoices . I have receipts from the wrong provider. They keep paying the wrong provider in another state no matter how many times I remind them of their similarities . They see one word on the invoice make assumptions and start getting aggressive saying I’ll be liable for the debt instead of working with us to make our plan work for us .
You are never allowed to escalate to a manager or speak to a manager …sounds familiar … frustrating as dealing with the NDIA .
I need to constantly calculate and cross check the plan balance before during and after we could have a plan top up , extension, or new plan in one year alone . This should never happen you’re wasting our precious time . Disabled people and carers also deserve to have a life and self care time .
We could never see our actual balance on my NDIS portal or our plan Managers portal . We should be seeing our balance with NDIS and plan managers in real time . How would you like your savings in a bank to be treated like this ?
We should be able to see all incomings and outgoings from the NDIS and plan managers like enforced by banks in real time . How can we not monitor our budget spending in real time .
I kept receiving messages from the PM we had no funds left when we had a new plan or a 2 year plan or there was plenty in core that could be used flexibly .
We were told Hand on heart we had 30 hours of SC left when we had 0hours . I asked several times ..Who pays the SC invoice for 30hrs the PM absolves themselves of any responsibility ?
PM should be made responsible for their mistakes .
One OT provider threatened to take me to court and debt recovery because their invoices were a few weeks overdue but I had no idea because they refused to cc me and the plan manager did not inform me funds we low . That provider refused to respond to any of my emails and would only deal with the PM . I terminated their service and they were reported by several of ours supports to ACCC and QSG . What if they took me to court or out debt collectors in time for mistakes I never made which impact my credit history !!! but the PM did this they were liable and it was not my mistake in the first place this is not acceptable we should have better protection ?
The government NDIA and plan managers don’t take things seriously you are messing with our lives you are impacting on our credit ratings which impacts on our ability to own a credit card but a house buy a car take out a loan for surgery !!!
The PM paid invoices without my knowledge to providers we told were no longer providing services. They paid their provider invoices that were generated years later which they should have manually been processed themselves direct with NDIS . What if we had no funds left because we don’t have that information I would be left liable and this is not acceptable we should never be left in this position all the regulations are made to protect the government and the NDIA and NDIS businessess ?
Yet PM consistently refuses to pay my reimbursements when they said the would .
We should be notified when each category in our plan is down at 50 60 70 80 90 and 100 percent by NDIS and the PM .
Our plan management company could not accomodate our communication requirements and reply to emails unless you called a bundle of times . I constantly had to call . Staff whose English is their second language misunderstood my request and the company started using AI and auto cues. I think English literacy exams are needed for any NDIS employee or provider employee including plan manager companies. Plan manager companies must be physically owned and located on Australian soil . All parts of it must never be outsourced like it is in aged care .
There are certain PM staff across Australia I knew by voice who were quite senior who I ran our plans over frequently . That I’m always grateful for .
When they were taken over by a very large company and the greed and problems started . They company didn’t change their name . I didn’t even know they had been taken over .
Alot of this is also the government’s fault .
No one can keep up with all these reforms . It’s just a shambles . Massive mess . One minute we can then we can then we can then we can’t then wait can we or can’t we .
We had the in and out list and the in between list .
Our plan manger implemented new policies before royal ascent so they can get ready .
STA is now STR then it’s back to STA then STR now STA .
We should be updated properly what all these changes mean precisely by PM and paid by our plan not by public or private social media .
Agency managed is a massive liability for NDIS . Providers invoice as they like and the NDIA does not monitor the invoices at all they’re just paid out without any oversight we are not even notified ie can dispute the invoices . When asked for breakdown of the invoices and work down NDIS told me they don’t keep any and to follow this up with the SSC . Our SSC drained our plan of all it’s funds and did nothing and wanted another 20k to attend our plan review . I did all the work for the SSC including plan review . Who pays for my time ?
Specially curated plan managers should be rewarded for providing a more customised service and be allowed to train plan users .
Plan managers and agency managers must apply for tenders and meet government tender requirements .
Thankyou for reading.