PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Ms COKER (Corangamite) (12:00): The NDIS was built on a fundamental Australian value: fairness. It's built on the idea that, where we can, we help each other, support each other and build communities where everyone has the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life. Since it was introduced as a pilot program in my region, the Geelong region, the scheme has changed the lives of so many people with disability, their families and carers, and the people who have helped make this possible are those who work at the National Disability Insurance Agency.

Many of these people are from my region, across the Bellarine and the Surf Coast, working at the NDIA head office in Geelong. They care and they work hard and they want to get things right for people with disability and their families. Those workers deserve our support, not criticism.

When the Albanese government came to office, we inherited a scheme that had been neglected for a decade. Costs were rising, wait times were a problem and the NDIA lacked the workforce and oversight needed to manage a scheme that was growing year on year. Around 2020, hundreds of staff in senior executive positions at the NDIA were engaged through labour hire.

Labour hire can lead to instability and high turnover—two things you don't want when it comes to senior executive roles. Importantly, people with disability deserve better when they're trying to access support through the NDIS. We have taken a different approach.

The Albanese government has invested in more than 1,000 additional frontline NDIA staff, strengthening the capacity of the agency to support participants and manage the scheme properly. As Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS, I chaired an inquiry into the NDIA'S capability and culture. During hearings, we heard about the dedication of its workers, alongside the areas where the agency needed to improve.

We can all acknowledge those shortcomings without belittling the people working to address them. In the June quarter this year, more than 96 per cent of participants received their first plan within the participant service guarantees timeframe; more than 96 per cent received an access decision within 21 days; 79 per cent received a decision within 14 days of providing additional information; and 97 per cent of home and living applications were closed within 90 days.

We know there is more to do. Anyone who has waited too long for support knows that, but these results matter and so does the work of the people delivering them. In the same quarter, there were 10,867 participant complaints, equivalent to 5.1 per cent of active participants.

That was the lowest complaints rate in two years. New participant critical incidents also fell from 3.1 per cent in September 2025 to 2.6 per cent in June 2026, and the NDIA's national contact centre recorded customer satisfaction of 93 per cent. The coalition should be thanking those staff and not attacking them.

Importantly, we are also fixing the problems the coalition failed to address. In October 2022, an NDIS participant who was medically ready to leave hospital waited, on average, 34 days to be discharged. By June 2026, that average had fallen to 15 days, with a median of zero days.

That means more people are returning home to their families sooner. We are also taking fraud seriously. The Australian National Audit Office found that, under the coalition, the NDIS lacked basic controls to prevent fraud and noncompliance.

That came through loud and clear in the NDIS committee's integrity inquiry. In response to our inquiry and as part of the government's work to tidy up the coalition's mess, we invested more than $1.35 billion in tackling fraud and noncompliance, introduced whistleblower protections and banned kickbacks and inducements. On top of that, the Fraud Fusion Taskforce has launched more than 600 investigations, with close to 100 operations underway, and has referred 50 people to court.

In closing, we are focused on securing the future of the NDIS and doing that alongside people with disability and their families. Of course, there's more to do. The Albanese government will keep strengthening the scheme alongside participants and their families and ensuring the NDIS remains there for those who most need it.