The National Disability Insurance Scheme (the NDIS) was established in 2013 under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) to provide funding for reasonable and necessary supports for people with permanent and significant disability. The NDIS is jointly funded by the Australian, state and territory governments under bilateral arrangements.

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is the Australian Government entity responsible for delivering the NDIS.

The NDIA receives complaints from a variety of sources on such matters as dissatisfaction with supports in a participant’s plan, payment delays, approvals of plan reviews and engagement with NDIA staff. The NDIA reported in 2022–23 that it received 28,951 complaints from participants (compared to 30,091 in 2021–22) and 983 complaints from NDIS providers (compared to 1,446 in 2021–22). Complaints are also received from various other stakeholders including the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, parliamentarians, and state and territory agencies.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the NDIA’s management of complaints.

Key findings:

• The National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA’s) management of complaints was partly effective.
• The NDIA has a largely fit-for-purpose complaints management framework. Supporting internal procedural guidance documents were largely clear, complete, and current. Complaints management is monitored through a monthly quality assurance process assessing four key areas: right person; right process; right referral; and right resolution. The quality assurance results varied significantly from month to month across all four areas in the last financial year, with low results against multiple procedures and no action plan to remedy performance. In 2022–23, the NDIA did not meet its 90 per cent target for resolving complaints within 21 days.