Not sure what this article is about..is it just a rant vaguely about the NDIS or something else?

Clearly the author has left out a lot of detail as the you do not win court cases without some grounds.

Thanks Patricia for exposing yet another flaw in the NDIS. Just shows how hollow Gillard tears were in announcing the unfunded scheme. I notice now that Ngo's are spending mega bucks on TV ads offering better deals for their clients. The ads are obviously money that should be spent on people with genuine disabilities. My wives down syndrome brother has actually lost funding under this new scheme despite promises to the opposite. The leeches are out in force.

The NDIS is an unecessary indulgence for bludgers and crooks that we cannot afford. The claimed annual cost is just the beginning. The cost will blow out year after year, thanks to incompetent politicians, public servants and fraudsters, all on the public purse. The Turnbull government is going to plunder taxes as irrationally as any Labor government.

I'm on the DSP for legitimate reasons. I have never claimed on this thing. I don't know anyone who has claimed on this thing. Either I mix with honest people, or stupid people, but I do live on an extremely tight budget. If people are abusing this thing, then really, it should be taken away. Then they might release some of the pressure that we feel from those who keep telling us that we should just rot on the street with nothing at all...

Perhaps if the support offered to these disabled was a reasonable figure, this would not happen.

We need a new law that no one can receive more than the minimum wage in welfare payments, so these rorts are brought under control.

The idea that any country can afford to spend $168,000, plus a heap of other stuff on the side, on each "disabled" is ridiculous. No wonder the number of so called disabled is exploding.

Many would happily give some bent doctor $25,000 a year, to get them on this merry go round, rather than the age pension or the dole. I wonder how many are rorting this system, & how many in the medical profession are growing very rich on the spoils.

Australia is a rich country and can easily afford to give disabled people a fair go. It's pathetic how those who think otherwise treat a serious but isolated isolated case of fraud in the existing system as a reason to oppose the NDIS.

Yep, a fair go Aidan.

However it is not a fair go to expect a checkout chick on less than $35000 after tax to pay even more so some disabled, or anyone else on the public teat, can go swanning around university, with $168,000 tax free to spend on their fun. Four times the take home pay of many workers who fund the welfare bill is ridiculous.

"However it is not a fair go to expect a checkout chick on less than $35000 after tax to pay even more so some disabled, or anyone else on the public teat, can go swanning around university, with $168,000 tax free to spend on their fun."
Ah, you're whingng about something that never happens!

Some paralysed people need constant assistance, which is very expensive. But it is (rightly) paid for by the government. The money is there to cover expenses, not to spend on fun. And university study is not swanning, it's learning; usually with the expectation of being able to subsequently use what they learn to make money.

And when exactly did the government raise the lower rates of taxes? Or was the bit about paying even more just empty rhetoric?

" Four times the take home pay of many workers who fund the welfare bill is ridiculous."
Not when your needs are so great that multiple people are needed to attend to them. Fortunately most disabled people's needs can be met far more easily.

If they are that disabled Aidan, they won't be swanning around universities. If they are swanning around universities, they should do it the same way able bodied do it, or stay home, & reduce their drain on more useful folk.

Quite right there too Hasbeen!
We should surely not spend money on people who are a 'drain to the system'.

So we need to stop paying out ALL welfare payments then?
Including the aged pension and sickness benefits?
You can meet all your other retired mates for coffee down at the soup kitchen each day...

Hasbeen,

As I said, they're studying not swanning.
They should do it any way they can.
Your failure to acknowledge they can BECOME more useful folk shows that you're not willing to give them a fair go.

I am an average fairly healthy 55 yo and I pay a staggering $729 per month for my trauma insurance, which means if I need funds for treating a situation that occurs then provided the insurer cant weasel their way out of paying I should be ok. I pay less than that for my Harley.

The point is insurance is an option for most people and if people chose to go without then that's a personal choice. Furthermore, if the indulge in life style choices that make them uninsurable, then that's also a personal choice.

Of cause there are those who are disabled through no fault of their own and they have to be catered for. But if $168,000 is a true figure, that's ridiculous. But it would be typical of that stupid Gillard to leave such an unfunded mess.

NDIS and the state-funded program -- the DHS Individual Support Package (which is the focus of this article) -- are both designed to use short-term funding to eventually get persons with disabilities off of their disability support pensions. Karen is a scientist. If her family had not diverted her funding to pay for their own living expenses, by now she would have graduated from university and been working in her field, possibly earning enough to fully support herself. The main point is not that the funding is wrong, but that the system is not set up to deal with rorting by the families -- NOT rorting by the individual with the disability. With proper financial controls in place, this is less likely to occur. Policy changes at DHS in 2011 that put large sums of cash under the control of non-disabled family members has opened the door to embezzlement of funds. There are few avenues that allow the disabled family member to report it and stop it. This is a major failing in the implementation of the program. If the DHS ISP practices carry over to NDIS, this new program that has the ability to benefit Australia in a fiscally-responsible way will fall short of its goals. I am strongly in favour of disability assistance for the disabled, NOT for their non-disabled family members.

I appreciate your posted comments. I want to clarify that this article is NOT about NDIS or a criticism of NDIS. It is a cautionary tale about a state program that may be used as a model for NDIS implementation practices. As a taxpayer, I want to see my contributions applied in a responsible manner with long-term benefits to all members of society.

Dr T, I donated some meat to a young couple the other day in aid of a fund raiser for their younger mate who was left crippled from an accident involving a drunk driver, at 5 am in the morning.

The family received a large payout and wasted the lot, so now the kid is left with no legs to speak of and no money. So this is exactly what is happening.

Blind Freddie knows the funds should be quarantined for the victim and used only for their direct benefit.

Rehctub... I agree that there should be provisions to ensure the funds are protected. It's a process that takes time to correct. My concern is that fraudsters are already way ahead of policy makers on taking advantage of gaps in the system. The result for a person with a disability can be tragic.

I have been receiving a payment from the Government for about ... maybe 5 years? and didn't know anything about it untill I was told by a charity society that I had to spend $10,000 or lose it. What! Apparently I had been receiving some money from the government and had not been told. The money was to help me with things I need to help me with my disability. BUT, I did notice when I received statements from the society, that they were taking just over 50% of my payment for their 'administrative and fees' costs!

I lost my walking stick last week so am going to buy a new one now .... if the society will allow me. My home isn't disable friendly, so a wheel chair is out of the question. No, I wont be greedy, a new walking stick will do. Maybe later on I can get a shower chair.

Mally. I think that these discussions are important so that the processes can be improved. There are many people like yourself who are trying to get what you need and should be helped with that goal. Those of us who do not have a disability are willing to help with our taxpayer dollars to provide financial support for disability programs.

I wrote this article to try to make a difference to ensure the moneys support the good work they were intended to fund.

It is a good article, it is a shame it hasn't had better publicity. I want to know what happened to moving people from supported employment to real jobs? If they can hold a proper job then they should have one. How is it fair that people on DSP can have assets in their name and get income from these assets but yet they can't support themselves?

Thank you Interestedonlooker. I want to clarify one issue.

The ISP program is not the same as a DSP pension. They have different purposes.

Karen's disability would have required her to live in an institution at a much higher cost to taxpayers had she not received government assistance to live in the community. She was on her way to a potential six-figure income when she was stopped by her family from achieving her education and career goals. Had she continued, she would have likely been completely off taxpayer assistance by now. However, that would have meant her non-disabled family members could not have continued to use her cash government payments for their own living expenses.

When Karen tried to bring these issues to the attention of proper legal authorities, she was silenced by her family and then blocked from continuing with her life goals.

It is a great Australian tragedy for any person with a disability to try so hard to become a productive member of society and be stopped so easily. Only policy changes can correct this.