The Hon Bill Shorten MP
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Minister for Government Services
The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury
Assistant Minister for Employment
The Australian Government is putting an end to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) “wedding tax” that has seen people with disability being forced to pay exorbitantly jacked up prices for essential services, supports and equipment.
Labor will double down on dodgy NDIS providers with the establishment of a multi-agency Taskforce comprising of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency.
Legislative changes will be made to strengthen the NDIS Act 2013 and NDIS Rules, which people with disability and the community will be consulted on.
The rule changes will boost the power of the NDIS Commission to take compliance action and ban providers from the NDIS market.
The ACCC will also be given additional resources to identify and act on consumer law matters that may arise from conduct of NDIS providers.
The Albanese Government will invest $6.7 million over four years to prohibit participants being over-charged when purchasing their supports.
Minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten said the measure aims to prevent suppliers unreasonably charging NDIS participants more for a product or service than non-NDIS participants, and is a key part of the Government’s efforts to reduce waste and combat fraud.
“The Australian Government is determined to block and stop unscrupulous providers exploiting NDIS participants to safeguard NDIS funding and protect participants,” Minister Shorten said.
“We are cracking down on unreasonable pricing practices to ensure every possible dollar in the NDIS is being used to support people with disability.
“Labor is committed to getting the NDIS back on track, which includes addressing dodgy pricing to protect participants and safeguard the longevity of the scheme.”
Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh said the amendments in the NDIS legislation would boost the power of the NDIS Commission to take compliance action and ban providers from the NDIS market.
“The ACCC is one of the best regulators in the country and these changes will give the agency added capacity to investigate serious competition and consumer law breaches by providers. We’re doing this to better protect NDIS participants’ rights and ensure that providers that are doing the wrong thing face consequences,” Assistant Minister Leigh said.
“The Taskforce will work with participants, providers and workers to raise awareness of how they can report exploitative practices under the NDIS Code of Conduct, as well as misconduct under the Australian Consumer Law. They will also work to strengthen compliance with NDIS Code of Conduct obligations.”
Minister Shorten said today’s announcement will drive continuous improvement by providers to deliver quality supports and services for people with disability who depend on the NDIS to live a fulfilling life.
This focus includes making sure that people with disability better understand their rights, with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission today releasing additional fact sheets and videos to help explain recent updates to the NDIS Code of Conduct Provider and Worker Guidance as it relates to price difference.
