Bill Shorten, the Australian Labor Party’s (Labor) spokesman for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), has slammed NDIS boss Martin Hoffman over the scheme’s appeals process, which faces massive delays after the number of appeals surged by 400% following increased cuts to NDIS packages, which the government disputes.
Appointed as the NDIS CEO in November 2019, Hoffman apologised in May 2021 over attempts to include individual assessments for NDIS applicants and reviews to determine what type of support they need – actions that critics said were driven by cost-cutting. Since then, more Australians have been claiming that the agency cut the funding for some NDIS participants, a claim the agency has denied.
Given the claims, Shorten questioned the NDIS leadership team in the last few years, including former chair Helen Nugent.
“[Nugent and Hoffman] presided over the independent assessments roll out, which would have been a disaster and breached any remaining trust that people with disability had with the government,” Shorten said, as reported by The Guardian.
Shorten announced that Labor will overhaul the $30 billion scheme’s appeals process, including reducing spending on consultants and private law firms and hiring another 380 agency staff. Specifically, it will establish a new appeals process separate from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal process, according to The Guardian.
However, the NDIS argued that it uses private law firms to mediate with NDIS participants, with data showing only a fraction of AAT cases goes to a contested hearing.
NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds said the government was providing “record funding for disability services, which is only possible because we have a strong economy.”
“Labor’s introduction of an additional layer of bureaucracy with ‘expert reviews’ will slow down decisions for participants. Labor’s promise for yet another review, on top of all the previous reviews, will add more uncertainty for participants and providers,” Reynolds added, as reported by The Guardian.
Meanwhile, Labor promised to review the scheme’s design, operation, and sustainability – conducted through a “co-design” process with disability groups.
