What is fraud?
Fraud involves the act of dishonestly obtaining a benefit, or causing a loss, by deception or other means. This means that someone is intentionally trying to get paid for a service or support that they don’t provide to a person with a disability.
It is rare that fraud matters do not involve issues with the quality and safety of supports and services. If there is fraud taking place, NDIS participants might not be able to access the right amount of supports and services they need, or they might receive a lower quality of service.
Fraud is against the law. If someone commits fraud, they will be investigated and can face criminal charges and/or may be subject to compliance or enforcement action including the imposition of banning orders.
What is the Fraud Fusion Taskforce?
The Fraud Fusion Taskforce was established in November 2022 and involves a group of experts working together from 16 government organisations, including the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, the NDIA, Services Australia, Australian Federal Police, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and others.
The Fraud Fusion Taskforce members share information and work together to uncover, investigate and prevent fraud, so that NDIS participants can continue to get safe and good quality supports.
You can find out more about the Fraud Fusion Taskforce on the NDIA and Services Australia websites.
What is NDIS Commission’s role in the Fraud Fusion Taskforce?
The NDIS Commission works with other agencies to share and analyse information, and uses data to identify suspicious patterns that might indicate fraudulent behaviour.
Our experienced investigators gather evidence and conduct inquiries about individuals or entities who may be using fraudulent practices against the NDIS.
As the regulatory authority, the NDIS Commission has the power to enforce compliance and take appropriate action against NDIS providers and individuals found to be involved in fraudulent activities.
Compliance actions can include:
- suspending or cancelling registration
- seeking injunctions and civil penalties, and
- banning a person and/or provider from providing NDIS supports and services.
We take these actions to safeguard NDIS participants from potential harm.
We also work closely with Taskforce partners to improve integrity and prevent fraud from occurring. This includes through building greater fraud detection and prevention measures to ensure that every dollar of NDIS funding is used for the benefit of people with disability.
Compliance Actions
Since the Taskforce commenced in November 2022, the NDIS Commission has executed the following actions:
| Fraud related compliance action | Executed since FFT commencement | +/- previous month | Executed FYTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banning order | 82 | +2 | 45 |
| Suspension of registration | 20 | No change | 7 |
| Revocation of registration | 23 | No change | 16 |
| Refusal of registration | 6 | No change | 1 |
| Compliance notice | 6 | No change | 1 |
| Banning order variation | 4 | No change | 1 |
| Additional conditions of registration | 2 | No change | |
| Warning letter | 7 | No change | 7 |
| Vary registration | 1 | No change | 1 |
| Infringement notice | 6 | No change | 6 |
| Totals | 157 | +2 | 85 |
Note: Table lists actions taken between January 2024 and 29 February 2024
How to get help if you are worried about fraud
We strongly encourage anyone who is worried about suspected fraud to report it – even if you are not sure it is fraud.
You can call the NDIS Fraud Reporting and Scams Helpline on 1800 650 717.
You can also email fraudreporting@ndis.gov.au .
If you are concerned about the way NDIS supports and services are being delivered – whether you think it is fraud or another problem - you can talk to the NDIS Commission.
We take all complaints seriously. We encourage NDIS participants, their families, carers, advocates, disability support workers and other members of the community to speak up about any concerns they may have with the conduct of any NDIS provider.
Anyone can make a complaint by:
- Phoning: 1800 035 544 (free call from landlines) or TTY 133 677. Interpreters can be arranged
- National Relay Service and ask for 1800 035 544
- Completing a complaint contact form.
What happens when you make a complaint about fraud?
When you make a complaint, you will be asked to provide information so we can investigate further.
We might ask questions like:
- Who are you making a report about?
- What happened that you think might be fraud?
- When did it happen and for how long?
- Where did it occur?
- Why does it seem suspicious?
- How did you find out about it?
- Who else have you reported this matter to?
You can have support when you are talking to us, or you can nominate someone to talk to us for you.
Click here for more information about how we manage complaints.