No images? Click here Image: Commissioner Louise Glanville and Associate Commissioner Natalie Wade Welcome from the Commissioner My name is Louise Glanville and last month I began my new role as the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner, with my colleague, Natalie Wade, joining at the same time as Associate Commissioner. I worked as Deputy CEO of the NDIA in the early years of the NDIS. I am committed to the Scheme, and I know that it can change lives for the better. One of the key focus areas for me is quality. Quality providers are central to the Scheme, and I know most of you are deeply committed to the wellbeing and safety of participants and ensuring their human rights are upheld. For those providers that breach the NDIS Code of Conduct and are failing participants, please be aware that the NDIS Commission is vigilant and will take strong action. We seek to become a formidable regulator. The Federal Government is planning new legislation to strengthen the powers of the NDIS Commission. This includes significantly higher penalties and, for the first time, the power for the NDIS Commission to refer providers and workers to police for alleged criminal offences. This new legislation will be the subject of consultation over coming months. Associate Commissioner Natalie Wade will oversee another of our major reforms, the mandatory registration of Platform Providers, Support Coordinators and Supported Independent Living. You can see our Roadmap, which sets out all the upcoming changes to the way we work, on our new reform hub on our website. See more information and links below. We continue to work hard on responding to complaints, managing reportable incidents, overseeing registration of providers, and delivering educational resources for providers and workers. I urge you to utilise these free resources within your organisations and ensure that staff know their roles and understand their responsibilities. See more information at the bottom of the newsletter with links to our resources. Commissioner Louise Glanville Strengthening the Commission - consultationWe are committed to consulting with you on the way we reform our services. The NDIS Commission has released a Consultation Paper on the proposed changes to legislation. Go to our reform hub on our website to see the paper and get involved in the consultation. Highlights from our Annual Report 23/24The NDIS Commission has released its Annual Report for 2023-24, revealing a major focus on compliance and enforcement over the past 12 months with a record $3.92 million in fines and penalties issued. The report shows we have issued almost 35% more banning orders, more than 160% more compliance notices, and almost 80% more registration revocations than the previous year. Read our Annual Report 2023/24. Reminder of audit obligations for registered providersWhile there are significant reforms underway in terms of provider registration, it’s important for currently registered providers to be aware of their existing conditions of registration. If you're a registered provider, you need to commence a re-registration process every three years, including undertaking an audit against the relevant NDIS Practice Standards. Visit our website to learn more about the types of audits you may be required to undertake. Knowledge and Skills Grant awardees announced We would like to extend a very warm congratulations to the 14 successful awardees of our Knowledge and Skills Grant opportunity, announced by NDIS Minister Bill Shorten recently. These projects will improve the knowledge and skills of participants, providers and workers to uphold the rights of people with disability to access quality and safe NDIS supports and services. Visit our Grants webpage for details on the successful applicants, and to learn more about our Grants program. Legal action against IrabinaThe Federal Court last month granted permission for the NDIS Commissioner to commence civil penalty proceedings against Irabina Autism Services (Irabina). The NDIS Commissioner commenced court proceedings against Irabina CEO Debra Goldfinch and General Manager Rebecca Goldfinch in September. They have also been permanently banned from ever working with people with disability again. This update to the civil action means that the NDIS Commission, if successful, can seek financial penalties against Irabina, as well as Debra Goldfinch and Rebecca Goldfinch. Read the full media release from NDIS Minister Bill Shorten. Market Analysis – Gaps in Worker CompetencyEarlier this year, the NDIS Commission completed an analysis of 1,500 complaints received during the period 1 October to 31 December 2023. This analysis was to help identify trends and inform our understanding of where to focus our efforts as a regulator, to ensure we’re safeguarding participants and guiding the market on the delivery of good quality and safe NDIS supports and services. When we reviewed the data by support type, we found that most complaints (68%) were about support types delivered by support workers, including daily and community supports, and home and living supports. These complaints were broken up into:
While this data tells us that there are gaps in the competency and skill level of some workers who are providing supports and services to NDIS participants, appropriate training of NDIS workers can help to mitigate many of these issues. We encourage you to make use of the free training modules for NDIS workers available on our website. Disability Advocacy Forum – video and update The NDIS Commission welcomed disability advocates from across the nation, both virtually and in person, to its annual forum in August. The Disability Advocacy Forum brings together partners from across the sector to hear from the NDIS Commission on our key work to support participants, and to enable attendees to ask questions. Read Acting Commissioner Phelan’s address and watch the video wrap up of the event. Fair Pricing Fair pricing is when there is no major price difference between the cost of a product or service for an NDIS participant compared to other customers. If a provider sets a higher price for NDIS participants and cannot justify the price difference, they may be in breach of the Code of Conduct and could face penalties. The Code of Conduct now includes rules about price differentiation. Find out more information about fair pricing. NDIS Commission’s 2025 Priorities In this short video, our Deputy Commissioners talk about what each of their divisions is focusing on as we move into 2025. You can find out more about our future focus in our Corporate Plan 2024/25. Key resources to help youThe NDIS Commission has a range of key resources to support you in delivering safe and quality services and complying with your registration. Find the links here:
Resources for Behaviour Support Practitioners
External resources
Connect with usStay in touch with the NDIS Commission on social media:General Enquiries1800 035 544 (free call from landlines) Our contact centre is open 9am to 4.30pm in the NT, 9am to 5pm in ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, TAS and VIC. Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. To provide feedback, contact the NDIS Commission by emailing Thanks for reading!You can find past issues of the NDIS Commission provider newsletter on our website. |