Vulnerable people with disabilities are being forced to switch providers or sign up to the NDIS with cash, food, phones and other valuables.
Once participants sign up, their plans are no longer funded, the promised support never materializes, and they are left isolated and neglected.
The claims are among a litany of complaints detailed in a new report from disability advocacy groups and the Darwin Community Legal Service, which allege unscrupulous NDIS providers are targeting people in the Northern Territory.
“People are promised phones or KFC to change providers. It happens every week,” said an anonymous NT disability advocate in Katherine.
In the Northern Territory, Indigenous people experience almost twice the rate of disability as non-Aboriginal people, and make up 51 percent of all NDIS participants in the NT.
Many of these participants live in or come from remote or very remote communities, where social disadvantage, limited services and language barriers make them vulnerable to exploitation.
‘No way to pay for aid’
The report claims providers misrepresent themselves and tell participants they work for the NDIS or the renowned National Financial Planner, which offers tailored disability support and life insurance.
The report claims that in some cases these representatives have approached people who look like they have disabilities in hospitals, dialysis units and car parks.
Once the documents are signed, providers can withdraw money from a participant’s NDIS plan. In many cases, “overservice” leaves participants without the money to pay for ongoing care.
“Plans that were supposed to last a year are emptied in two months. Then people are left with nothing and can no longer pay for help,” said an anonymous service provider in Tennant Creek.
One of the complaints in the report concerns a 36-year-old non-verbal Aboriginal man with an acquired brain injury.
When his regular caregiver arrived to provide the planned support, another caregiver was already in the home and the participant claimed to have engaged it independently.
Investigation revealed that the new provider had allocated 35 hours of support per week, despite the participant’s approved NDIS plan only allowing seven hours per week.
Further investigation revealed that the employee had taken possession of the participant’s personal bank, Centrelink and identity cards.
‘Manupulation of relationships’
Another complaint revealed that a service provider had forced a participant’s sister to transfer her to their organization by offering $5,000 and a car.
The nurse then attempted to remove the participant from a stable home and move her to another facility.
Despite the participant’s objections, the new provider arranged for a cognitive assessment to be performed by a nurse, who concluded that the participant had reduced decision-making capacity.
A report was filed seeking to appoint the sister as guardian, essentially attempting to override the participant’s autonomy.
“It’s not just about the inducement; it’s the manipulation of relationships,” said an anonymous disability advocate in Alice Springs.
“People are convinced by family and caregivers to take actions that deprive participants of their independence.”
Another anonymous advocate in Alice Springs said many who have been targeted are unaware they are working with unscrupulous providers.
“Aboriginal clients often believe that anyone using the NDIS name must be official,” they said.
“They don’t realize these are private companies.”
Calls for more surveillance
Advocates and providers across the NT said they were losing confidence in the NDIS complaints process.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission “rarely follows up on serious complaints”, the report said.
“It is quite concerning that these providers, who are repeat offenders, are continuing to operate without any sanction,” Scott Richardson, a disability advocate based in Alice Springs, told the ABC.
A spokesperson for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission told NITV the commission is increasing its “compliance and enforcement efforts in the Northern Territory”.
“We will continue to strengthen oversight in the Northern Territory to ensure people with disabilities are treated with dignity, safety and respect,” the spokesperson said.
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