This is according to the government that has put to bed critics who have referred to the NDIS as an “open ATM” for scam artists.
The parliament has introduced the toughest anti fraud rules in the NDIS history while the Albanese government prepares to cut costs before unveiling the next budget in May.
The NDIS Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2025, which was signed into law on 10 April, received the approval of both parliamentary chambers.
The bill has empowered regulators with additional enforcement powers and has introduced prison terms for actions that were formerly considered minor administrative infractions.
According to the new regulations, violating a prohibiting order may result in a jail term of five years.
Additionally, failing to register in order to provide service support will attract up to five years.
Serious breaches of the code of conduct have seen penalty fines raised up to 40 times, resulting in over $15 million in fines for misconduct leading to death or severe injuries.
The multi agency Fraud Fusion Taskforce was established in November 2022 and now comprises 24 member agencies.
660+ active investigations are in progress. Since the NDIS began, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has banned nearly 200 individuals and providers and disrupted more than 2,500 providers for non compliant claims.
Sustainability under the microscope
Fraud action is part of a bigger push to control an out of control program that has already exceeded the initial projections.
The scheme currently costs Australians more than $50 billion each year, with expenditure increases estimated at around 10% annually.
The Productivity Commission had modeled the program back in 2011 and had projected costs of $13.5 billion once mature, with increases expected at about 3 to 6%.
In mid January, the government formed a NDIS Sustainability Taskforce, led by Public Service commissioner Anthea Long, which is supposed to work to cut the rate of increase to 5 to 6%.
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In March, the Minister for Social Services, Mr. McAllister, wrote to the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS asking them to look into the level of fraud and non compliance within the scheme.
Health Minister Mark Butler said in a recent interview the scale of the challenge was clear, with about 260,000 service providers in the scheme but only 16,000 registered, leaving the government with limited oversight of who was operating, what they were doing and what qualifications they held.
Each dollar saved from the perpetrators, they maintain, goes back into the pockets of those Australians who benefit from the program. Whether the May budget keeps that promise remains to be seen.
