TV interview with Minister McAllister, Sky News - 30 June, 2026

Media event date: 30 June 2026 Date published: 30 June 2026 Media type: General public TOM CONNELL : So, the number of tip-offs compared to convictions seems pretty low. What's going on here? What happens at the tip-off level compared to when, you know, someone comes and knocks on the door of a fraudster?

SENATOR JENNY MCALLISTER: We came to Government with almost no enforcement capability, and what's significant about the figures that we've released today is just how far we've come in building that capacity to identify, investigate, and bring through to criminal prosecution allegations when people are alleged to have done the wrong thing. That is by no means the extent of the activities that we are undertaking to disrupt fraud and inappropriate claiming within this Scheme.

For example, today we will check as many claims as the previous Government checked in a year. We have built a digital capability- Sorry, check in one day as many as they check in a year? : Correct, that is because there was no compliance capability at the NDIA. : Bending the rules, incorrect charges, people might not be proven to be fraud, but it gets picked up.

So, there's beyond the cases of people going to jail, there's a lot more that are paying back the NDIS as well? : We're trying to get everybody into compliance. Sometimes, in the most serious cases, that looks like prosecution, and the figures we released today show that we've brought through 26 convictions, two thirds of those have been sentenced with jail terms.

Short of that, we see strategies to disrupt improper behaviour. Sometimes that looks like warnings, sometimes that looks like banning orders, sometimes that looks like deregistration. We've got a range of tools, but we are determined to clean this system up, because this is a life-changing Scheme.

It is amazing for people with disability, but it has to operate with integrity, and it has to be safe. : Power of AI, is that helping you sort of scan through things more quickly and pick up red flags? : That is not a feature of our compliance effort. : Is there a wariness around something that mimics Robodebt in that regard, even though you're talking about providers rather than individuals in those circumstances, is that part of considerations or not really? : I think right across Government we are conscious of the possibility of new technologies, and we think that they can be used well and they can be used safely, but we're aware of the risks as well, and we don't intend to make the mistakes that previous governments made in terms of deployment of technology and human services.

The bill that's in front of the parliament at the moment actually includes a range of safeguards that would be used if the NDIA decided to use any form of automation within their decision making, particularly around planning and decisions in relation to participants. : So we've still got these, you know, major cuts to the program, making it sustainable on the table.

The key part of that, obviously, is Thriving Kids. What actually is happening here? So most states are loosely signed on, and there is a system being worked on.

Is that happening? Is it becoming a, is it going to be a state level system when it comes to Thriving Kids, which is a, you know, when you want a lower level help for autism or behavioural needs? : So we're making changes because we think there's a better way to provide support to children and families who have low to moderate support needs if they have autism or developmental delay, and the program that we're standing up with the states and territories is called Thriving Kids.

It's a joint investment between the States and the Territories and the Commonwealth, and we will all deliver some part of the program. The states will do a lot of the work in relation to service provision, and so, for example, Victoria has recently indicated that they're going to step up the number of checks that a child can have developmental checks, they have digitized their green book, which is the book in Victoria that you use to record your child's progress, and they're making investments in allied health professionals that will work in maternal child health centres, in kindergarten environments, so that there's a are services available- : Checks, it's more checks available to go, I’m not sure if my kids are hitting the milestones, I'd love another check to see what's happening.

That's what you're talking about when it comes to that. And is that free or subsidized? : Each state will do it in their own way, but Victoria is integrating it with their existing services that exist for mums and babies and children, that's part of the project from our perspective is to make sure that these services are available in the environments where families are already.

You're not going through a long process of diagnosis to gain access to the NDIS, instead you're coming to your local maternal child health centre in Victoria, asking the question, whether your child's on track, and if there are issues to be addressed, being able to relatively quickly access services in that environment, rather than going through an extended application process. : People in that situation were switched from the NDIS, which is, for them, they don't pay anything, to subsidized appointments, where they are paying out of pocket for each appointment. : I don't think that that's the model being proposed in Victoria, but each state will do it differently. : Okay, when you say they’ll do it differently as well, so does that mean if kids in Queensland, when they move to Victoria, they've got to start that whole process again? : We've established a national framework, which essentially has four elements.

Really good information for all parents about what to expect in terms of your child's development. Really good assessment and referral pathways for children. Parenting assistance for parents, because parents are the first teachers, they're often the person most involved in supporting their child to work through any challenges they're experiencing, and then what we call targeted supports, so assistance that actually, where you may have an allied health professional supporting a child, either in a group or individually. : But you could have a situation where you've gone through all the process, you're getting your appointments in Victoria, you move to Queensland, you've got to fill out all the paperwork again, whatever, I know you say there's a framework, but you're entering a new system, whereas the NDIS, at the moment, it's anywhere in the country.

This would become state by state. : We're expecting the States and Territories to be able to work together to deliver these services. : If you make that a prerequisite, say how you need to be able to transfer, or is that not, is that too difficult? : We're standing up the processes so that we've got good services in all States and Territories that parents and families will be able to access. : Okay, and what about the reassessment of every single person, which has come up at the inquiry?

I mean, if you've got someone who's a quadriplegic from a car crash, they're not going to get more capacity, are they? Do you really need to reassess a person in that example to see what their capacity is on the NDIS? : So the NDIS is an incredibly important scheme, but over the years it's expanded well beyond what we originally anticipated in terms of who accesses the scheme and the kinds of services people get, and so one of the things that we're trying to do is put clearer guidelines down about who the scheme is intended to assist, people with significant and permanent disability, that will mean establishing a process for assessing that, and also a threshold.

And we do recognize that for some people it's very clear that they meet that threshold. : So, in that circumstance, so whilst everyone is in the reassessment pile, for some of them you get the page, you have a read for a minute, you tick it, you move on. Is that? : We'll be seeking advice from the technical advisory group that we're standing up, and one of the things we'll ask them to do is to think about the best way to assess the people, and their circumstances. : Not have to put someone through all this, cost a taxpayer, ask all these questions, go, well, this one's pretty clear cut, all right.

A lot to still digest in that area. Jenny McAllister, appreciate your time. Thank you.

Senator the Hon Jenny McAllister Disability and carers Accessibility We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past and present. © Commonwealth of Australia