PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Mr REBELLO (McPherson) (16:56): The NDIS is a system that was built to provide dignity, fairness and support for Australians living with disabilities. But, across Australia, we're seeing the exact opposite. We're seeing this in my electorate on the southern Gold Coast.

We're seeing a system where participants are losing support, honest providers are under pressure and fraudulent operators are thriving. This goes to the heart of the problem. We are targeting the wrong people.

Something is wrong when people who are doing the right thing—the physiotherapists I speak to, the OTs and various other professionals who are doing the right thing by working with and for participants—are not given the support that they need from this government, and those who are rorting the system are. There have been so many examples of this recently, but I'd say this: Australia is waking up, and Australians are waking up.

This motion calls on the government to restore transparency, consistency and accountability and calls for a renewed focus on fixing inefficiency and safeguarding the integrity of this scheme. Anybody who has social media in this country will really question the integrity of the NDIS at the moment, and they'll question it for good reason because, time and time again, we are seeing the hard earned money of Australian taxpayers being absolutely used and abused not by participants but by the people who are running some of these facilities and some of these services.

The data in the motion is distressing and deeply alarming. We're seeing that eligibility reassessments have nearly doubled, revoked eligibility has skyrocketed from 389 to over 10,000 and $436 million has been cut from participant plans in just one quarter. Everybody in this Chamber would have experiences of speaking to the parents, to families and to loved ones who have actually borne the brunt of these cuts.

The government's own budget papers show that the NDIS is going to cost the Australian taxpayer $63.4 billion by 2028-29. It's absolutely telling. It's telling where this government's priorities are.

Recently we had a situation in the Senate where the government was presented with the opportunity to participate in a review of the NDIS. In particular, it was a review into fraudulent behaviour in the NDIS scheme. And what did they do?

They voted against it. Can you imagine that? A government member interjecting— Mr REBELLO: I'll take the interjection by the member opposite that we've already got an inquiry.

I think Australians are seeing. They're waking up to what this government's doing. They're waking up to the fact that it's asleep at the wheel while Australian taxpayers are footing the bill, something that those opposite care absolutely nothing about.

What is happening is that the people who really need the NDIS support are not getting it. And that's the problem. I think there's no-one in this Chamber who would object to people who have a genuine need, and I've met many of these in my electorate as well.

There are people who have a genuine need and who have suffered a disadvantage, through no fault of their own, using the NDIS. We have absolutely no concern as to them being afforded the respect, the dignity and the support that they need. However, what we should never stand for in this place is the fact that the system is being abused.

We've got evidence that that is the case, and every single member of this parliament was sent details of that earlier in the year. Every single member of parliament should be aware of that. And, where we see examples of that being abused, somebody needs to stand up and say something about it because the Australian taxpayer deserves nothing less.

And it's not just the Australian taxpayer; it is also every single one of those men, women and children that I and members across this Chamber speak to who actually rely on the NDIS because of genuine need. That is something that this government should hang their heads in shame about, because we're seeing a system—and it goes to the heart of this motion—that doesn't have integrity.

And if the public doesn't have confidence in this system, buy-in is very, very hard. I say to the government: Australians are waking up. Do something now.

Restore integrity to the NDIS because, frankly, the Australian taxpayer deserves better.