Lessons should have been learned prior to NDIS rollout, integrity boss says
The NDIS's integrity chief, John Dardo, told a parliamentary inquiry that approximately $3.7 billion of the scheme's $45 billion in payments last financial year involved 'integrity leakage,' encompassing fraud and non-compliance. He stated that governments have repeatedly failed to apply lessons from past program failures when launching new initiatives like the NDIS. The hearing follows recent government reforms aimed at cutting $22 billion over four years by removing around 160,000 participants and improving oversight.
- ▪About 8.3% of NDIS payments, or $3.7 billion, were subject to 'integrity leakage' in the last financial year, according to John Dardo.
- ▪The term 'integrity leakage' includes fraud, provider rorts, and inadvertent non-compliance, though the NDIS does not isolate the exact fraud amount.
- ▪The NDIS Fraud Fusion Taskforce has led to 25 prosecutions, with 15 more ongoing and over 600 investigations active.
- ▪More than 2,500 NDIS providers have been removed from the scheme due to integrity issues identified by the taskforce.
- ▪The parliamentary inquiry was initiated by NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister to examine fraud and non-compliance across the $50 billion scheme.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Billions of NDIS funds lost to 'integrity leakage' last year, executive tells parliamentary hearingBy the Specialist Reporting Team's Evan YoungTopic:People With Disability26m ago26 minutes agoFri 1 May 2026 at 2:52amThe hearing comes a week after the government unveiled dramatic cost-cutting changes to the $50 billion scheme. (ABC News: Nicole Mills)In short:NDIS executives have today been addressing a parliamentary inquiry into the scheme's integrity.The inquiry was set up after NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister requested a probe into the extend of fraud and non-compliance in the scheme.What's next?The inquiry is expected to hand down a report on July 2.abc.net.au/news/ndis-funding-integrity-leakage-parliamentary-hearing/106630496Link copiedShareShare articleAbout $3.7 billion of National…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at ABC News (Australia).