Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to join my colleagues in speaking in great support of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Improving Supports for At Risk Participants) Bill 2021. The Morrison government continues to consider ways to support people with disability to live lives free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. As part of our continued commitment, this bill makes essential and life-changing amendments to the NDIS Act. It seeks to improve the support provided and to better protect NDIS participants from harm, and it seeks to ensure that the quality and safeguarding framework for NDIS participants is as robust, comprehensive and responsive as it can be.

We take no chances with the safety of people with disability. This bill responds to a number of recommendations of the Independent Review of the Adequacy of the Regulation of the Supports and Services Provided to Ms Ann-Marie Smith, an NDIS Participant, Who Died on 6 April 2020, otherwise known as the Robertson review. The tragic death of Ann-Marie Smith is a shocking and appalling case of neglect, one which Australians nationwide continue to be deeply saddened by. Ann-Marie Smith's story reinforces the absolute urgency in our government to protect NDIS participants and to make sure that such distressing events do not occur again.

People with a disability have the right to independence, both in their communities and in the safety of their own homes, and yet too often they feel segregated, isolated and neglected. Alongside the Robertson review, our government has considered a number of inquiries into the effectiveness of NDIS safeguards. This bill represents our wholehearted commitment to take action to protect participants from neglect at the hands of those who have been paid to care for them. To better protect people with disability, a less-restrictive threshold for sharing of information between the NDIS commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency has been established. This has been enacted in recognition of the Robertson review recommendations. This bill removes qualifiers like 'serious' or 'necessary' to ensure that any threat to life, health or safety is sufficient ground for the recording, use or disclosure of protected NDIS commission information. It amends the sharing powers between these two agencies by granting them clear legal authority to release protected information to one another for the purposes of carrying out their core legislated functions under the NDIS Act to ensure the protection of participants. The bill also provides for greater clarity around reportable incidents and for disclosing information more broadly to the NDIS commission.

Another key amendment is the registration of NDIS providers. Currently, quality assurance of registered NDIS providers is undertaken by approved quality auditors who are engaged by providers directly. The market for quality auditors includes a wide range of experience levels and sector knowledge. This bill will allow the commissioners to place conditions on the approval of quality auditors, and it makes explicit the commissioners' power to vary or revoke approval of quality auditors. In line with best administrative practice, these decisions will be reviewable decisions.

This bill makes a range of technical changes by ensuring obligations and regulatory responses also fall on the key personnel of a provider, including the CEO and board of directors. It makes provision for the NDIS commission to establish rules in relation to suitability for the purposes of delivering NDIS services, and it clarifies the registration process that providers must follow, including the definitions around withdrawal of applications. These amendments will strengthen the support and protection for NDIS participants, and these amendments will facilitate greater independence, community involvement, employment and improved wellbeing for NDIS participants.

Last month marked eight years of NDIS. Eight years on, there are now 2,300 participants in my electorate of Bonner. Over the years, I have heard many of their stories, their desires to achieve their goals and their longing to live an ordinary life. Our government has not underestimated the critical support the NDIS provides for people with their disabilities, for their families and for their carers. That is why we take further action to ensure the safety of participants at risk of harm. We will continue to remember the participants who suffered unimaginable abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The measures in this bill are an essential part of this commitment. They will give participants choice and control over their lives. They will make sure participants are treated fairly and receive quality services from the providers and the workers that they choose to support them. And, most importantly, they will protect participants' rights to be free from harm.

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