More than 100 cases of alleged fraud in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) have gone before the courts following thousands of tip-offs.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has overseen the establishment of a task force to crack down on dodgy providers rorting the system.
There are currently 60 cases before the courts, he said.
“It’s a problem in the scheme,” he told ABC Radio on April 22.
Not enough work had been done to ensure the administration of the scheme was protected against fake invoices and shonky service providers, Mr. Shorten said.
“So there’s a lot of work going on under the bonnet to crack down on scammers and those opportunists in the Australian community who see government money as an opportunity to make a quick buck,” he said.
The growing cost of the scheme is one of the biggest pressures on the federal budget.
The NDIS shouldn’t be the only lifeboat for people with a disability as there were Australians who didn’t require the scheme but still needed help, Mr. Shorten said.
Reforms over assessment and eligibility criteria were needed, but some people would need life-long access, he said.
“The reality is that we do have a proportion of Australians with lifelong, permanent disabilities,” Mr. Shorten said.
“What we hope to do, though, is to double down on early intervention. Most parents who have kids on the scheme don’t want to see their kids on the scheme for life.
“We’ve got to have early intervention services that help.”
