“The NDIS has evidently become an easy target for fraudsters,” remarked NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister.

“Targeting individuals with disabilities is unacceptable. Those who do so belong not in the NDIS, but behind bars, and we are committed to bringing them to justice.”

The NDIS functions by connecting individuals with disabilities to one of 1,400 plan managers who provide necessary support.

This government-funded initiative aims to assist approximately 410,000 people.

An inquiry has revealed that among the smallest 1,000 plan managers, a staggering 90% show signs of fraudulent activity.

“Our intelligence has shown evidence of their focus on individuals with specific physical and cognitive impairments,” stated Adam Meyer, an executive at the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

John Dardo from the Fraud Fusion Taskforce said cartels from across the world are “targeting Australia”.

“Collusion is probably the best way to describe it.” 

“It is a coercive sort of arrangement,” he added. 

“That’s at one end of the spectrum that is really taking advantage of very, very vulnerable people.”

One NDIS participant was legitimately charged more than $2300 for a major house clean, only to be billed three times more over the next month and a half, losing almost $7000.

Jim’s Cleaning apologised, repaid the money, sacked the contractor responsible, and introduced safeguards to avoid a repeat.

The parliamentary committee also heard some NDIS participants had allegedly come out of prison and been placed in boarding houses where their NDIS packages were “harvested.”

Butler aims to cut the average annual plan spend by about $5000, down from $31,000 to around $26,000.

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