Look in any social media forum focused on the NDIS and you will see endless horror stories of appalling behaviour. That behaviour comes from many sources. Incredibly, a lot of it comes from the NDIA itself.
We are compiling and cataloguing the Sins of the NDIA to increase community awareness of what really happens. These stories have been told by people who joined us in the NDIS Class Action and Royal Commission Facebook group.
When we are able, we will add “Broken Commandments of the NDIA”. This will analyse the way provisions of the NDIS Act (2013, as amended) are breached in the course of committing the sins.
If you’ve followed #RoboDebt, you’ll know that the primary issue there was an unlawful method of calculating fortnightly income. In the context of the overall act, the portion breached was miniscule.
The Sins of the NDIA breach pages and pages of the NDIS Act. When it’s ready, we’ll send a full copy of “Broken Commandments of the NDIA” to the Royal Commission.
Meanwhile, we will publish a few stories each week, so that if you ever have any doubt, you can come back and see the harm that the NDIA is causing to vulnerable Australians, including those who care for people with disabilities.
To begin, here are just 15 very short statements of the harm experienced by NDIS participants and their carers:
- My sons funding has repeatedly been cut for years. I have PTSD from constantly fighting for his rights.
- I acquired spinal injury from pushing a 200kg wheelchair for 15 months waiting for repair.
- I have been denied SDA for my son due to being under 18 I have to lift him in and out of the bath he’s 50kg.
- Many, many issues with mine and my son’s plans left me suicidal and then in hospital.
- The unsatisfactory way the agency is run. Untrained unqualified staff push vulnerable, already disadvantaged people to stress and exhaustion. I am physically disabled later in life. Nobody has made me feel more disabled than the agency who is supposed to help support us.
- Extremely sensitive documents discovered in the wild on the PUBLIC web: ‘…my husband searched for my email address on google. He found the full-service agreement between my daughter and [name of service provider] for support coordination.’
- A participant reported they got two plans in one – the first part of the plan was their plan and then the last part – capacity building and capital supports was someone else’s plan! ‘Sam would like to walk independently as a goal. My child’s name is not Sam, and they walk just fine.’
- As a participant and a family member of a participant I have suffered emotional distress and harm. Planner outright denying supports. Mistakes in plan construction meaning funds unavailable, needing to cancel supports.
- My daughter has cerebral palsy and bilateral polymicrogyria and I’m tired of fighting and being underfunded constantly.
- I want to sue NDIS for the pain and suffering and, causing more damage and setting me back with my functional gains and the torment and the cruel degrading inhumane treatment by staff and plan managers.
- We have had an awful time currently with the AAT process for my adult daughter. She was left without funding and supports for a week I couldn’t work our business suffered.
- I am a professional advocate/NDIS appeals advocate and I believe the system is failing in its purpose, leaving people without support causing harm.
- I have been at AAT on behalf of my adult daughter for 11 months with no resolution in sight. I’m exhausted providing so much care due to an underfunded plan whilst trying my best to navigate the AAT and start preparing for a hearing with no legal assistance.
- My son’s NDIS was cancelled without notice as he turned 7. I was told multiple times that a meeting was to be held before this happened but I got a call and it was gone. didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to his therapists.
- My daughter suffered a severe head trauma as they wouldn’t fund her BSP until the damage was done.