Labor leader Bill Shorten said federal social services agencies are involved in the bureaucracy that results in worse outcomes for Australians.
Mr. Shorten said he realized that “things are worse now than I thought looking outward” since taking over the NDIS portfolio as a government minister.
He said he already knew that “things were difficult administratively,” with “inexplicable decisions” within agencies like the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the Department of Social Services.
“There are a lot of good people working in these agencies,” he told 3AW Radio.
“But things happen that do not pass the test of common sense.”
For example, Mr. Shorten said too many NDIS participants were “stuck” in hospitals waiting for accommodation, care packages, or home modifications.
“(They) can be relocated, but the system is too slow to process the people who get better housing. This is causing a lockdown in our hospitals, ”said Shorten.
“I think governments of all types and levels sometimes have to roll up their sleeves and try to solve problems, because sometimes it’s not about politics. It’s just a bad process.
Mr. Shorten said he thought some NDIS people in hospitals had been forced to wait until their “forever home” was ready for them and that it would take too long.
“We should consider medium-term housing for people so that we can move them from hospitals to a better environment,” he said.
Mr. Shorten undertook to review other elements of the NDIS after taking over the portfolio from his Coalition predecessors.
He said the Albanse government would consider additional resources for the program, including a dedicated multi-agency task force, to eradicate fraud.
“The thing is, I want to end the overcharge culture once someone finds out they have an NDIS package instead of not having one, right down to serious organized criminals,” he said. she told reporters in Melbourne earlier this month.
“NDIS is taxpayer funded for our most severely and deeply disabled Australians. And right now, I am extremely concerned that there is an epidemic of fraud from people skimming money.
Mr. Shorten said exploitation of the program ranged from providers charging a premium for services to organized crime syndicates committing high-level fraud.
He made the comments after Australia’s Criminal Intelligence Commission chief Michael Phelan told the Nine Network that 20% of the $ 30 billion a year scheme could be misused.