Australian Government Vows to Stamp Out $1.5 Billion in Disability Scheme Rip-Offs

Australian Government Vows to Stamp Out $1.5 Billion in Disability Scheme Rip-Offs
If no action is taken, the cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme will grow to $8.8 billion passed budget expectations. Steve Buissinne/Pixabay
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Australian government minister Bill Shorten has vowed to put an end to the fraud that is hurting the federal government’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which results more than $1.5 billion (US$1.06 billion) in loss a year.

The announcement comes after a report by The Herald Sun on Sunday revealed that criminal syndicates are targeting NDIS, obtaining Australians’ personal information to produce false invoices, inflated bills, and ghost payments. The Australian Crime and Intelligence Commission has said that as much as 5 percent of the $29 billion (US$20.54 billion) scheme has been lost to fraud.
Nina Nguyen
Author
Nina Nguyen is a reporter based in Sydney. She covers Australian news with a focus on social, cultural, and identity issues. She is fluent in Vietnamese. Contact her at [email protected].
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