Syndicates ripping off the National Disability Insurance Scheme will be targeted in a fraud crackdown backed by nearly $50 million in funding.
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The upcoming federal budget will include the funding to target fraud and non-compliant payments within the scheme.
The $48.3 million allocated will go towards 200 staff at the National Disability Insurance Agency, as well as new systems to detect fraud.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said the funding would make sure money going towards the scheme would assist people with disabilities.
"We have found evidence of egregious fraud that involves complex criminal networks ripping off NDIS participants and Australian taxpayers," Mr Shorten said on Thursday.
"This funding will ensure the agency has the capability to address fraud and non-compliance."
Mr Shorten said a fraud task force set up in October last year was already investigating multiple criminal syndicates, some handling tens of millions in NDIS funds.
Some of the syndicates have targeted people with false information on how the NDIS operates, some using the promise of cash or vouchers.
Mr Shorten said some syndicates had also encouraged people to access the scheme by faking medical evidence.
"Many have drawn down millions of dollars in funding from hundreds of participants," he said.
"People ripping off the NDIS are going to prison. In the past 12 months, fraudsters have been sentenced to a combined 12.5 years in prison for ripping off the scheme."
The NDIS was set up almost 10 years ago, and is on track to be the federal budget's biggest expense.
Projections show it's on track to cost $50 billion by 2025/26, overtaking the annual cost of Medicare.
Australian Associated Press
