There have been several news articles recently about fraudulent NDIS providers, taking advantage of participants funds.
For your peace of mind, please:
- Seek advice or recommendations about a Provider. There are many disability Facebook groups (e.g. NDIS Plan & Self Management Community | Facebook) where you can get a recommendation from another person who has used the service, or a similar service they are happy with.
- Before starting a service or support with a new provider, ask for a meet and greet or a trial to get the know the provider.
- Service agreement- make sure you have a service agreement in place, that you have read or sought advice on to make sure the provider is working within the NDIS Price Arrangement – and importantly, not charging for anything you don’t approve of.
- Check your invoices – check the hours and days match the actual service provided. Some of the simple fraud has been providers charging for services that didn’t happen.
- Choose a Plan Manager who will make sure your providers are charging within the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and give you regular updates on your budgets.
- If you have funding for a Support Coordinator, ask others (for example in Facebook groups or your Plan Manager) for recommendations – there are lots of professional and caring Support Coordinators out there.
- Disability Advocate- if you don’t have funding for Support Coordination, and need some help or advice, contact the Disability Advocate Network Disability Advocacy Network Australia | Disability Advocacy Network Australia (dana.org.au)
- Always report suspected fraud by calling the NDIS Fraud Reporting and Scams Helpline on 1800 650 717 or send them an email with the details to fraudreporting@ndis.gov.au. Click here for more information Report suspicious behaviour | NDIS