Australia's NDIS Rortfest - $3004 overnight respite fee the new normal?
'At least $8 billion worth of funding intended for people with disability is allegedly being abused by crime syndicates.' Michael Phelan
Who was the bubbled NDIS bureaucrat that approved a $3004 respite fee for 48 hours of professional care for a disabled child or adult?
A travel company recently advertised 14 nights in Turkey for AU$3000.
NDIS Snapshot
Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a support service for people with disability aged between 7 and 65. If you are accepted for the NDIS before turning 65, you can continue to receive support from the NDIS after 65 years of age. (Ineligible over 65’s can access support via the My Aged Care systems.)
It was established in 2013 under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act.
(Source: NDIS website)
NDIS Rortfest
In true, Aussie WEFtician style, the NDIS support system has been allowed to turn into an obscene rortfest of taxpayer funds. The current Federal Minister for Disability is Bill Shorten. He is responsible for overseeing the NDIS and disability services but with the rorts bill estimated to be an eye watering $8 billion/annum, you can be forgiven for wondering what he actually does for a living.
Breaking News
Kangaroo Court - Shane Dowling
July 7, 2024
Bill Shorten told parliament on Tuesday (2-7-24) that $billions of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) spending is being rorted on things such as “strata fees, fines, steam rooms, gambling, legal cannabis, cruises, trips to Japan, non-assistance animals, taxidermy, weddings, gift cards, the Liberal favourite sex toys, crystal therapy, cardiol therapy, clairvoyants and tarot, somatic therapy, mastermind coaches and cryptocurrency”.
The NDIS is heading towards being a bigger fraud scam than Jobkeeper and it is possibly already a bigger fraud scam.
…How long has Bill Shorten known about those “rorts”? If Shorten has known about the “rorts” for over 2 years since he became the Minister for the NDIS, he should be sacked for failing to take action earlier. If Shorten only found out about the “rorts” recently he should be sacked for failing to do his job for over 2 years.
Click this link to read full article
Global Organised Crime Network
Australian Lawyer and journalist Josephine Cashman offers compelling, deeper insights:
‘It all makes sense when you understand the global organised crime network behind 5th column enemy combatant Bill Shorten. Shorten's supremacy cult handlers use globalisation and crime to control the peasants.’ Exposing the Crime Century - Josephine Cashman
Recent NDIS News
ABC News - 24 May 2024:
In 2022, Michael Phelan, then the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission chief, warned as much as a fifth of disability funding in the NDIS was being abused by organised crime groups, prompting a government crackdown.
The NDIS has cost an estimated $44 billion this financial year, meaning at least $8 billion worth of funding intended for people with disability is allegedly being abused by crime syndicates.
Mr Phelan said since taking on the job as acting commissioner of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, he had learned criminal influence was possibly worse than he thought.
"I certainly made those comments in 2022, in my position as head of the crime commission, and to be perfectly honest I haven't stepped back from that position," Mr Phelan said.
Link: NDIS rorting by criminal syndicates worse than feared, says scheme's watchdog
Honorable Victorian MP Russell Broadbent - Tipping Point
June 5, 2024
Widely unreported (experimental) COVID mRNA injection injuries are expected to cause a flood of new NDIS clients. What, if anything, are the disability minister and executive management doing to prepare? What is the government doing to assist vaccine injured Australians who are too sick to ask for help? Are they aware of the number of injured Australians who are taking their own lives?
Please take the time to inform yourself about what is really going on in Australia by watching this Tipping Point discussion between the honorable Victorian MP Russell Broadbent and his equally honorable guest, UK Professor Angus Dalgleish. Click his link to view Tipping Point.
9 June 2024
Daily Mail
June 5, 2024
Note: this article by political editor Peter van Onselen incorrectly estimates the NDIS rort bill to be $2B/year instead of $8B/year.
Daily Mail comments
Is it just Australia that’s a taxpayer funded, bubbled bureaucrat, criminal infested paradise or is this phenomenon commonplace?
Respite Rort
$3004 Respite Fee for 48 Hours Care
When my bestest buddy Dave contacted Life Without Barriers to enquire about weekend respite costs for his 32 year old, wheelchair bound son, who is also a happy client of their weekday respite service. he answer came back at $3004, with 9am drop-off on Saturday and pick-up at 5pm, Sunday.
I nearly fell off my roost. Pre COVID, the Samaritans offered a 3 night respite service in a peaceful, modern, rural setting, which included pick up on Friday afternoon from Life Without Barriers, drop off on the following Monday morning, all meals and care, for approximately $800. (Sadly, as NDIS fees continued to rise, the Samaritans were eventually forced to end their rural respite service.)
Naturally curious to see how such a hefty fee of $3004 was arrived at, I suggested Dave request an itemised breakdown of costs. But Life Without Barriers was unable to provide one.
Seems to me that post COVID greed pandemic has impacted far and wide. The approved fee of $3004 for an overnight stay reeks of a rort and most parents who care for their disabled child/ren refuse to comply with rorts out of respect for tax payers. To the detriment of their health and wellbeing. Which is also unacceptable.
In my experience, respite is the only way to fully recharge one’s batteries. A simple thing like a free weekend can work wonders. But not for $3004/night, courtesy of the taxpayer.
A common disability scenario
Now approaching 70, Dave cares for his son and everything that comes with full time parenting plus wheelchairs and cerebral palsy, 24/7. Nowadays, the mother is invisible, give or take an hour or 2 on a Thursday when she takes him out to lunch. When she can make it. A mother who received a 6-figure, largely unearned divorce settlement when their son was about 3 and who tried her damnedest to stop the father from having any custody rights. But he fought back and was eventually awarded 40% care.
Given that the child’s biological father was a donor and the marriage had ended on difficult terms, some men would have understandably gone their separate way to escape the volatile situation. But this newly hatched father chose to weather the potential ex-storms, embrace his disabled young son and all the responsibilities that go with parenting (x100).
Mothers who abandon their disabled adolescent
When their son turned 18, the mother quit. Happens a lot in the disability world. The father left his successful film career to care for his son full time. An unanticipated shock to the system. 50/50 shared care was discussed and agreed upon with the ex but she reneged. A large part of the 6 figure payout was supposed to ensure that all of his son’s needs were met for many years to come alongside his 40% care.
I arrived on the scene in 2015. The mother was having a wonderful time travelling the world on a whim and seeing her son once every few months or so. I knew very little about disability at that time and wondered why a mother would choose to be so absent in her dependant child’s life.
An NDIS caseworker revealed that they see many mothers abandon their parental responsibilities when their disabled child turns 18. For approximately 90% of Australian families who do not have a disabled child or parent in the mix, 18 is generally the age when fledgling independence begins. When parents can start thinking about some of things that they would like to do again, or experience for the first time. As a couple. And why not? When I was about 16, my dear dad told me he was looking forward to when we were all grown up so he could take mum travelling.
Not so for parents of disabled adults. Parenting duties continue unchanged. I’m not suggesting we bring out the violins. Just spare a thought for the many unpaid parents whose caring responsibilities and pressures don’t always decrease when 18 rolls around. Moving into supported accommodation at 18 is not always a desired or suitable option, either.
Which brings me back to the issue of the $3004 respite rort. The absence of adequate respite leads to inescapable exhaustion and a higher likelihood of developing health issues. Nobody should have to live this way.
Trauma Healing
My personal healing journey and studies have since helped me understand that undealt trauma can play a significant hidden role in a mother’s decision to abandon their adult disabled son or daughter. The mother in this story lost her first baby when she was born extremely prematurely. The second pregnancy also ended with an extremely premature birth and the tiny male fetus suffered a significant stroke.
His early arrival was fraught with uncertainty for both parents and baby. The neo natal doctors were divided about whether to allow nature to determine the outcome, or machines. Given the grief of having lost one child, emotions would have naturally hit peak mode and the thought of losing another tiny baby was likely too painful to even contemplate. Machines were chosen and their baby son survived.
Four months later, the parents were able to take him home. And that was the end of hospital visits for awhile. But the road ahead was as uncertain as the birth. A whole other story that Dave may write about one day.
Many Parents Dread Supported Accommodation
As mentioned earlier, moving into supported accommodation at 18 is not always a desired option. Some disabled adolescents embrace the chance to live independently while others are nowhere near ready for such a move. Nor are their parent/s.
And let’s not beat around the bush here. Until recent years, Australia’s ‘corporate care’ industry has had a dismal track record. Research some of the horror stories from the 2019 Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability and the 2018 Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Anyone would think this country never stopped being a cruel penal colony run by ignorant men and women in their cosy bubble. (Fortunately, ALL bubbles inevitably burst.)
I recently spoke to a woman whose exhausted, ageing mother cares for her 2 disabled adult daughters. She had gone without respite for so long, that her health was suffering on all levels. Reluctantly submitting to the $3004/night fee is 100% understandable but should not have served to cause a sense of guilt add to her overflowing stress basket.
Well into her 70s, the mother also dreads the thought of her daughters moving into supported accommodation because of all the terrible stories she has heard. But reliance on professional care is an inevitable future for all disabled children that no parent should spend their waking hours worrying about. But many of them do and tend to avoid seeking assistance with the future planning process for as long as possible.
Happier days ahead
Fortunately, there are also many happy stories out there about independent living. We need to hear more of them and ensure that robust auditing measures are firmly in place for all supported accommodation facilities.
If you happen be as unaware as I used to be about life in a family home with a disabled loved one in the mix, support services such as Life Without Barriers are a godsend for all concerned. And the carers are dedicated people who do a wonderful job.
It’s the rotten 8 billion dollar/year NDIS rorters that are the problem. And the overpaid, ineffective, gravy train politicians who have let it become such a monstrous issue.
Who can ever give 7 days notice when they are sick? No one.
An idiotic NDIS policy was introduced in 2024 by corporate disability service provider Life Without Barriers, whereby 7 day’s notice would be required for cancellations if your disabled son or daughter falls ill.
Requesting 7 day’s notice for a holiday or other planned event is acceptable but illness? Do parents and care givers now have to be psychic?
In this instance, the buck ultimately stops with Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese. This idiotic policy needs to be extinguished from all workplace policies. So does the corporate culture of fear of speaking out.
Have I said ‘idiotic’ enough?
27 June 2024: The newly introduced ‘7 day sick leave notification policy’ issue has since been resolved by Life Without Barriers. A Ministerial from Bill Shorten’s office also helped things along. But the outcome would only exempt Dave’s son from the sick leave policy which is preposterous. This policy, which was created by Life Without Barriers, needs to be cancelled for everyone involved. At the time of writing, Dave is currently awaiting confirmation about this outcome.
The reason I am including the below email examples, is to show what happens when you exercise your rights as a constituent and demand action from politicians who may need a reminder that they are paid to represent the people.
May 30, 2024
Dear Dr Gordon Reid,
My son has cerebral palsy and is a recipient of a package with the NDIS. He is 32 years old and will never get better.
I have written to you in the past at least twice regarding the care costs at Life Without Barriers and never once had a reply from Bill Shorten regarding this. It’s been promised twice but nothing!‘
This week my son has been ill with a throat infection (which he caught at Life Without Barriers) and I have kept him home, notifying LWB on a daily basis as to his status. I have been notified that he will be charged full rates for all the time he is off as they have a policy of 7 days notice should a client not attend. Now they get paid a LOT of money to care for my son and with sickness, I believe they are gouging the system. Who can ever give 7 days notice for sickness?
The other thing that I have previously written to you about is the charges they expect from us to take my son from 9am Saturday to 5 pm Sunday night, just 2 days and one night, at $3004. I do his FULL TIME CARE and receive less than 36c/hr in any form of government payment. I will NEVER spend $3004 of tax payers money (NDIS) for a weekend and as a result I NEVER get a break.’
I want you to look into this and also send it onto Bill Shorten and this time I expect a reply and am happy to meet with both of you personally to discuss this further, at my home if necessary.
(The office of NSW Central Coast MP Dr Gordon Reid swiftly responded and there has since been significant ‘movement at the station’.)
Home modification racket
My first eyewitness experience of the NDIS rortfest concerned a wheelchair ramp that took 5 years to materialise. Dave had been dragging his wheelchaired son up and down 8 house steps for a considerable amount of time, which obviously posed significant risks, despite his herculean strength.
The NDIS initially proposed a $55,000 lift which was rather archaic for the money. Soon after, things came to a halt because of a system changeover but the NDIS constantly assured Dave that he would be assisted.
Dave wasn’t impressed with the expensive, convoluted lift and suggested a wheelchair ramp be considered as it was a far more practical solution. The NDIS agreed and advised him to get some quotes, preferably from NDIS registered builders. The first quote, for a veranda styled ramp with no roofing, was $125,000. (Eye-pop. Jaw drop.)
This came as a rude shock to everyone except the NDIS, which didn’t seem to have a problem with the heavily inflated, tax-funded price tag. Long story short, close to 5 years of ping-pong promises would pass, peppered with delays, delays and more delays.
Eventually, Dave approached a non NDIS registered builder who provided a quote for a ramp, veranda and 2 roofs, for $44,000. A massive $60,000 difference. The NDIS covered the ramp component and Dave happily covered the rest. If he had known it would take 5 years to green light the ramp construction, he would have pursued a privately organised home modification path sooner. Either way, the final result was brilliant and has been life changing in a hugely positive way.
A seemingly straightforward bath winch
The email below demonstrates how a seemingly straightforward bath winch was somehow costed at $11,113. At the time of writing, this issue is still being addressed.
Dear Dr Gordon Reid,
Further to my phone conversation with Cherie at your office, we discussed another (matter of) what I consider gouging by Active Mobility who supplied a ceiling winch to hoist my son (now 85kg) from his nightly bath at a cost of $11,113 on 31/8/2022.
… Less that 2 years later (22/4/24) the handpiece failed (which I expected to be under warranty) and they replaced it on arrival in under 10 minutes. That cost was $774.00.
… The invoice shows various charges, callout fee etc that doubles the cost. I believe this is straight out gouging because they knew that it was covered by NDIS. I have not yet paid this account.
I am completely over the corporate gouging of the NDIS and when quizzed on costs they tell me often that this is what they have been instructed to charge BY the NDIS!
I was recently up in Yamba and took my son in a lift to the 2nd storey of a home. That lift motor, braking system and hand piece with a capacity of 2 tonnes was purchased for $1500.
NDIS Snapshot
(Source: NDIS Website)
Carer Allowances
Source: Association for Children with Disability
Australian people who provide daily care and assistance to someone with a disability, medical condition, or who is ‘frail elderly’ are eligible for a Carer’s Allowance payment of approximately $140 a fortnight (41c per hour). To receive the allowance, you must be an Australian resident, and your single/combined income must be less than $250,000 a year.
To receive a fortnightly Carer Payment of up to $1,000 (more for couples), you must be an Australian resident and earn less than the cut-off point of approximately $60,000 (single) or $92,000 (couple). It is for people who provide substantial daily care and assistance to someone needing constant care with a disability, medical condition or who is frail aged. If you qualify for the Carer Payment you will also receive the Carer Allowance.
Note: All parents provide ‘substantial daily care’ and assistance to their disabled son or daughter and most have paid exorbitant taxes all their life. I believe they should all automatically qualify for the Carer Payment - a ‘special tax return’, of sorts.
When you look at how much money is wasted an misdirected by governments these days, a Carer Payment is a drop in the ocean in comparison.
Mothers report poorer health outcomes, but few seek help
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), compared to fathers, mothers caring for partners or children with disability report poorer health outcomes, but only a very small proportion of them seek help.
Around one in 12 families (8%) had at least one parent with disability and just under one in 25 families (4%) had a child/ren with disability. Families with a member with disability were more likely to be jobless, have lower weekly parental income and more likely to be headed by sole parents, compared to families without a member with a disability.
The data showed that having a child/ren with disability is associated with significantly higher psychological stress for parents. Around twice as many parents with a child/ren with disability reported moderate to high psychological stress compared to parents without a child with disability.
Until next time.
