Radio interview with Minister McAllister, ABC Radio National – 31 July 2026

Media event date: 31 July 2026 Date published: 31 July 2026 Media type: General public : Minister, welcome back to the program. JENNY MCALLISTER: Thanks, Sally. SALLY SARA: What kind of therapies have been funded by the NDIS which you think should not have been?

JENNY MCALLISTER : We made it very clear in 2024 that therapy needs to be delivered by a qualified practitioner, and that wellness supports or alternative therapies are not suitable. We want every dollar to go to quality supports that genuinely improve the lives of NDIS participants. Every dollar that goes somewhere else is a dollar wasted, and we don't want to see that continuing.

The kinds of concerns we have is that people have continued to use a loophole to claim, in one example, golf lessons. This is totally inappropriate. We're cracking down on this through a number of means, changing the price guide, increasing our analytic capability, and seeking support from the Parliament for new powers so we can continue to investigate providers who are doing the wrong thing.

SALLY SARA: What's the Government's estimate on how much money has been wasted on therapies that are not evidence-based and not delivered by professionals? JENNY MCALLISTER: We don't have a estimate across the scheme, but an analysis of this category of supports saw very significant numbers of problems in this category of claiming, and it's why we're cracking down on it.

We found that 40% of providers claiming under this category in the sample that we examined were incorrectly claiming for an NDIS support. SALLY SARA: So, if they were incorrectly claiming because they've gone through this loophole, does that mean that they won't be prosecuted or action won't be taken against them for what's happened already? JENNY MCALLISTER: Where a person is incorrectly claiming, we can, on occasion, raise a debt against that provider, and we do do that.

In other instances, we've referred the behavior to the ACCC, and the ACCC, for example, has prosecuted one fitness support company that told NDIS participants that if they had NDIS funding, their supports would be covered. But that was inaccurate, it was misleading, and it was wrong and they were prosecuted by the ACC. SALLY SARA: So, how many providers have been prosecuted or financially penalized?

JENNY MCALLISTER: We have very significant numbers of prosecutions underway. We've had across the system, we've had 17 people convicted in recent times and receiving jail sentences for provider fraud and poor behavior. We've also got increasing numbers of banning orders against providers who are doing the wrong thing, and we see remediation notices and warnings issued by the NDIA as well.

We've got a suite of compliance action underway because this scheme has to operate with integrity, so it can keep delivering for the people it was designed to serve. SALLY SARA: If this loophole has been in existence since 2019, why hasn't the Government acted before now? JENNY MCALLISTER: When we came to Government, the ANAO has told us that there were essentially no compliance mechanisms built into the NDIA by the Liberals.

This was an appalling act of oversight and neglect, and we've acted to remedy it… SALLY SARA: …This is originally, the NDIS is originally a Labor program, isn't it? JENNY MCALLISTER: Sally when we left Government in 2013, the NDIS was being rolled out in a number of trial sites. The Liberals had plenty of opportunities to learn the lessons from those trials.

When we came to Government, there were no compliance mechanisms in the Agency that the Liberals built to oversee this scheme. We've put in place a very significant investment in compliance and enforcement. We've invested more than $1.3 billion over the last four years, and further investments were contained in this budget.

It's included digital capability. We can now see and have digital oversight of the 600,000 claims that are made every day against the Agency. As an example, we scrutinize more claims in a single day than the Liberals were scrutinizing in a year.

SALLY SARA: Providers will still be able to claim through this category of Other Professional supports, you're lowering the maximum hourly rate that can be charged from $194 an hour to $156. How will that relatively small reduction in pricing reduce potential rorting? JENNY MCALLISTER: Firstly, we do think that it's necessary to continue to have a claiming category of this kind.

There are some kinds of supports that are delivered by qualified professionals, for example, with masters levels degrees in education, where an Other Professional's claim is appropriate. But we are now able, as a consequence of our investments, to digitally scrutinize the claims that are being made under this category, and we'll continue to look at this incredibly closely.

The final thing I would say is that we're seeking new powers from the Parliament. The NDIA needs to be able to require providers to keep good records. They presently can't do that.

We need to be able to issue warrants and pull people in for questioning without relying on police forces who have other jobs to do. The powers we are seeking from the Parliament in the bill that is presently before the Senate would allow exactly that. We are determined to stamp out fraud in this scheme, and we're looking for the support of the Parliament to do so.

SALLY SARA: The Government is attempting to rein in spending on the NDIS, also through a number of means, including setting up Thriving Kids. Thriving Kids is slated to start in October. Will that October timeline be met?

JENNY MCALLISTER: Thriving Kids is scheduled to start in October and build up to January 2028, and we're seeing very promising activity in many of the States and Territories. Victoria has announced some really interesting programs. My conversations with Disability Ministers suggest that they are now seeing the promise of this investment, and they're excited about getting going with the providers in their states.

SALLY SARA: On a separate issue, Labor MP for Solomon and Special Envoy for Defence and Veterans Affairs, Luke Gosling has been charged with allegedly assaulting Northern Territory Administrator David Connolly. Mr Gosling has strenuously denied the allegations. Coalition figures say that Mr Gosling must stand down.

Should he? JENNY MCALLISTER: This is a legal matter. It’s an ongoing matter before the court, and I'm really just not in a position to provide comment on it, Sally.

SALLY SARA: Jenny McAllister, thank you very much for joining me. JENNY MCALLISTER: Thank you so much, Sally. 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.

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