Office of the Public AdvocateOpposition NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten has called for independent oversight of vulnerable National Disability Insurance Scheme participants living in poorly regulated accommodation in what he says is a “wild west” part of the industry.
He said the federal government should consider a national community visitor scheme, based on the model in Victoria, where trained volunteers would be authorised by law to inspect the premises of NDIS providers.
Mr Shorten described the Quality and Safeguards Commission, set up in 2018 to respond to concerns about NDIS providers, as the “Bermuda triangle of complaints”.
“Complaints go there to disappear. At the moment the commission is under-resourced. Too much of the safety of participants is being reduced to a desktop safety compliance system.”
A spokesperson for NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds said the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission was working closely with the Victorian Public Advocate and the Victorian government regulator.
