Reference 20OPA00144

4 December 2020

Principal Research Officer PO Box 6100 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600

VIA E-mail NDIS.Sen@aph.gov.au>

Dear Mr Paul,

Thank you for your email dated 24 June 2020 in relation to the New inquiry into the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (the Commission).

I am pleased to provide a copy of the July Safeguarding Taskforce Report. Further information about the Safeguarding Taskforce and its work can be found on the Department of Human Services website on the following link https://dhs.sa.gov.au/latest-news/safeguarding-taskforce.

The Safeguarding Taskforce was Co-chaired by Dr David Caudrey who is the South Australian Disability Advocate (auspiced by the Office of the Public Advocate). The Task Force was established in May 2020 to consider the systemic safeguarding gaps of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the Commission and the state. The Safeguarding Task Force Report identifies 14 Safeguarding Gaps and seven recommendations for the NDIS, The Commission and the state to improve the safeguarding of people with disability who may be considered vulnerable. The report also identifies some key points about the operation of the Commission since its inception on 1 July 2018 and recommendations for improvement which align with some of the terms of reference for your work.

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I can be contacted to discuss this submission further by e-mail at or by phone on

Yours sincerely

Anne Gale Public Advocate

Enc: Safeguarding Task Force Report 31 July 2020, Easy Read version of the task force report 31 July 2020