Committee: Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Date referred: 25 March 2026
Submissions close: 24 April 2026
Reporting date: 02 July 2026

Terms of reference:

The Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme will inquire into and report on:

1. the nature and extent of non-compliance, including fraud and sharp practices, in the National Disability Insurance Scheme;
2. the impacts of non-compliance on NDIS participants and their families;
3. the effectiveness and adequacy of successive government policies to improve scheme integrity, safeguard participants, and tackle non-compliance; and
4. any legislative or other reforms required to strengthen scheme integrity.

Information for submitters

What are 'sharp practices'?

According to the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Commission, ‘sharp practices’ refer to a range of practices involving unfair treatment or taking advantage of people, including over-servicing, high pressure sales and inducements. According to the Commission, some sharp practices may undermine the integrity of NDIS providers, workers and/or the NDIS sector as a whole.

While the sharp practices may not necessarily be unlawful, they are considered unethical, dishonest and not in the interests of the person with disability.

Adverse comment

Under parliamentary privilege, committees operate under procedural fairness rules for the protection of individuals and organisations who may be subject to adverse comment.

If your submission comments adversely on another person or organisation (for example, allegations of professional incompetence, negligence, corruption or deception), the committee will provide that individual or organisation an opportunity to respond to those allegations. The right-of-reply process also applies to confidential submissions.

The committee encourages submissions which comment on the conduct of providers or others in general terms, without naming individuals or organisations, as this would not constitute adverse comment. In addition, the committee cannot examine matters relating to specific providers, as explained below.

Individual matters

Submissions that outline details of individual cases or complaints, including complaints about specific providers, may inform the committee in identifying broader systemic issues for inquiry. The committee can draw on individual cases to inform its deliberations.

It is important to note that the committee is not able to provide advice on your individual circumstances. The committee is not able to progress or resolve any individual concerns or complaints about your experience with the NDIS, or with NDIS providers. The committee cannot overturn, or remake decisions made by the NDIA.

There are other avenues available to you to progress or resolve your individual circumstances. These include directly communicating with:

• the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
• the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART)
• the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
• your local Member of Parliament.