NDIS Fraud – Media Silent

By John Ogilvie

There are few things that get the Australian public more riled up than discovering that they are being cheated in some way. This is a phenomenon seen in everything from sport to politics. People don’t like it when they feel like they are being deceived or swindled.

So it’s no wonder that a bombshell investigation into the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is currently going viral.

Findings on the Investigation

YouTuber Pete Zogoulas and political activist Drew Pavlou (previously featured on BBA) have conducted a sting investigation into alleged NDIS fraud

The documentary highlights multiple findings of alleged fraud. This includes extreme overcharging by NDIS providers. It was also found that several NDIS providers who had previously been shut down for improper conduct had simply re-registered under different names, sometimes keeping the exact same phone numbers, websites, and even physical locations.

At several points, the pair faced threats and even physical intimidation while conducting their investigation.

It isn’t exactly a secret that the NDIS has been taken advantage of for some time. The documentary highlights the 2014 Senate testimony of John Dardo (NDIS Integrity Officer):

“I can tell you now there is not sufficient judiciary to process the [NDIS fraud] cases we have in the pipeline in the country.”

In other words, the government acknowledges that NDIS fraud is so widespread that there are not enough judges in Australia to handle all the cases.

Parliamentary Inquiry Lifts the Lid

As this article was being written, a parliamentary inquiry hearing uncovered the shocking scale of fraud and waste in the NDIS.

According to the hearing, $3.7 billion (approximately 8.3% of the NDIS $45 billion budget ) was lost to what the government is officially referring to as “integrity leakage.”

For those you who don’t speak bureaucrat, “integrity leakage” is fraud. Bear in mind that these numbers are likely conservative estimates.

The inquiry found that out of the smallest 1,000 plan managers, 90% showed traces of fraudulent activity, and that organized crime groups (both domestic and foreign) were taking advantage of the NDIS as a revenue stream, often taking advantage of people with cognitive disabilities.

The hearing was also told that some staff within the National Disability Insurance Agency (the body that runs the NDIS) have also been involved in fraud. This is going to make reforming the program significantly harder.

This is powerful, official validation of exactly what Pete and Drew exposed in their viral sting investigation.

SLAPPed Down

At the start of the documentary, Drew mentions that one of the difficulties with conducting the investigation is Australian defamation law.

It is much, much easier to sue for defamation in Australia than it is in a jurisdiction like the United States. We do not have any legal protections for freedom of speech beyond the implied right to freedom of political communication. This makes it significantly easier for someone to initiate a frivolous defamation lawsuit.

Even if the lawsuit itself is eventually thrown out by a judge (or the defendant is found not guilty), the threat of enormous legal expenses is enough to instill a culture of fear about speaking out.

This highlights the need for serious reform to defamation law in this country. If the law is actively preventing journalists and others from conducting important investigations like this, then it needs to be changed.

Mainstream “Journalism”

What is just as alarming as the fraud itself is the absolutely deafening silence from Australia’s major media outlets on this issue.

Two twenty-somethings were able to do the work that major media organisations (some of which have multi-billion dollar budgets) were either unwilling or unable to do. One of the primary functions of the news media in a free society is to hold the government accountable, and to investigate and report on scandals like this.

The Power of Alternative Media

It seems that Drew and Pete’s investigation has had an effect. The Government has just announced major changes to the NDIS that will see the program wound back significantly.

While the mainstream media looked the other way, a viral YouTube investigation made the problems impossible for politicians to ignore any longer.

This is exactly why independent and alternative media matter. When the traditional gatekeepers fail, ordinary people with courage and a camera can still hold power to account.

We will be keeping an eye on the NDIS