MEDIA RELEASE – 5th December, 2024
Participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) have become lucrative “cash cows” to be exploited by unethical NDIA Planners, belligerent Public Advocates, and unscrupulous NDIS providers, warns Ms. Ksenija Kristo, Director of KSM Disability Consultancy. These individuals trade vulnerable NDIS participants between nursing homes and preferred accommodation providers for financial gain, often driven by nepotism, collusion, and corruption. There is a criminal group of operators that eagerly trade NDIA participants between “favoured” NDIS service providers with no legitimate or transparent tender process; knowing they will be richly rewarded by the NDIA Planners with ongoing referrals if they play the game.
Recent complaints of elder abuse in a hillside nursing home lodged by 63-year-old “Karen’s” NDIS Support Coordinator, Dr Matilda Bawden, have been blocked from any further investigation by the NDIA on the grounds that Karen’s alleged “mental incapacity” to consent to the disclosures has been revoked – thereby enabling Karen’s written consent to Dr Bawden to be rescinded by her son without proper legal authority.
Dr. Bawden said, “State and Federal Governments invest millions in public education and awareness campaigns urging people to report elder abuse, and our laws make it illegal to perpetrate elder abuse – except when a Commonwealth public servant engages in it! Imagine being told that the person being abused must first consent to a report being made about their abuse, before an authority can investigate and that it is up to the abuser to give consent for an investigation to take place. Yet this absurdity is now the official position adopted by the NDIA Minister, Bill Shorten, and Chief Executive Officer, Rebecca Falkingham. This is an absolute corruption in play, defending the indefensible. I know countless service providers who were investigated for far, far less and without the consent of the participant before the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NQSC) set out to mercilessly harass those innocent providers, but employees of the NDIA now enjoy a special immunity from our human rights laws and any scrutiny of their own practices, whilst claiming to protect vulnerable people.
Ironically, on the same day that the NDIA claimed not to have authority from Karen’s abusers to have her elder abuse investigated, the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal's (SACAT) claimed that "without medical evidence of a mental incapacity, SACAT does not have jurisdiction" to investigate the very same allegations reported by Dr Bawden because Karen DOES NOT lack mental incapacity. Of course, we know that anyone can apply to SACAT for guardianship over a person’s affairs without any evidence of incapacity, such as “Mitch”, “Kathleen”, “Kiara”, “Ashley”, “Tahlia”, “Brian” and dozens of others who were wrongfully removed from their loving families by SACAT. In the case of “Mitch”, even the Full Supreme Court found that the reasons for his removal from his cherished mother were “unexplained”.
The ongoing discrepancies within SACAT’s processes have led to grave injustices, characterised by legal inconsistencies and lack of transparency. Cases like that of “Kathleen” (who was deemed not mentally incapacitated to choose her son as her EPOA but died just 6 months after her son’s EPOA was revoked by SACAT) highlight grievous injustices in protecting elderly people from systemic abuses by unaccountable public servants. Dr Bawden said, “Kathleen was forced into full State Guardianship, shoved in a nursing home and left to die alone. Now there is again a refusal by SACAT to investigate a report of elder abuse against Karen because she is not mentally incapacitated. It is clear that a system intended to protect is, instead, turning a blind eye to enable persecution, abuse and exploitation at every opportunity.
Dr Bawden’s complaint detailed actions by NDIA Planner “Rajesh” proving collusion with Karen’s nursing home to prevent her from moving into an NDIS-funded Supported Independent Living (SIL) residence, thereby, restricting Karen’s autonomy - even though Karen has always been capable of making her own decisions regarding accommodation, finances or lifestyle choices. Under Rajesh, Karen has been denied the right to explore alternative living arrangements despite requesting such options through the NDIA (and for which she was approved funding).
“Heads her abusers win; tails Karen loses!”, Ms. Kristo said. Dr Bawden also urges the revocation of the EPOA powers held by Karen’s children, who have disregarded their mother’s wishes and sought to control her finances by overriding her capacity for independent decision making. “I have worked with Karen for over 2.5 years and her purported EPOAs were nowhere to be seen or heard when she needed them the most – until she was paid $19,000 by the NDIA! When Karen couldn’t afford a coffee or her medical bills, her son was missing in action, but he developed a sudden interest in where she can or cannot live. Karen’s children abdicated their responsibilities to Karen when they were encouraged and invited to participate in her NDIS planning and reviews, but they were fast to stick their hands out for her money, seeking to buy themselves cars and pay their own bills. They even begrudged Karen a short holiday stay at the Stamford Grand, even though she hadn’t been on a holiday since entering the nursing home many years prior. It is obscene for the NDIA to now work overtime to dead-end process the complaints I lodged with evidence of Karen’s abuse – even where she expressed fear and distrust of her own children. If I was the party refusing Karen the right to choose her own lifestyle goals and choices, I’d be under full investigation, my face would be making front page news media and I’d be on a public register of prohibited providers, but when it is an NDIA official, that’s buried!”.
The NDIA routinely breaches privacy and justifies the cover-up of privacy breaches on some purported higher purpose of protecting a participant, but here we have no justifiable reason for keeping elder abuse private when Karen is being isolated and denied basic life choices including deciding where she wants to live and who she wants to see. “Karen said she was terrified by the nursing home Director who “banned” her from seeing or speaking with me while the NDIA Planner, Rajesh, has blatantly lied to Karen about her capacity to afford to live in her own home”, Dr Bawden said. “This is a clear human rights violation as there are no SACAT Orders or authorised Restrictive Practices prohibiting Karen from the right to see anyone she wants or the right to make her own life choices, however, the NDIA and the nursing home are now isolating Karen to ensure that she cannot tell anyone of her bullying, abuse and intimidation. Rajesh has ignoredKaren’s expressed wishes and even an unnecessary psychiatric assessment was arranged, without her consent, threatening her independence and potentially setting her up for guardianship decisions without proper justification. We know this means Karen will be medicated in order to fail a capacity assessment as there is no-one to ensure that this doesn’t happen and that’s why the NDIA had to immediately remove me as her Support Coordinator” Dr Bawden said.
Ms. Kristo is urging all relevant authorities, including the NDIA, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, and the Aged Care Quality and Safeguards Commission, to act swiftly to protect Karen’s rights. “I am horrified that Karen is being deprived of her basic human rights and freedoms of association and movement,” said Ms. Kristo. “The actions of all those involved in Karen’s NDIS decision-making represent a clear violation of both ethical and legal standards and this must be addressed immediately to prevent further harm. It is clear that a Royal Commission into Guardianship abuses by State and Federal Governments is long overdue. The systemic flaws, legal inconsistencies, and questionable actions by authorities must be urgently addressed to prevent further harm to those who are supposed to be protected.
Ms. Ksenija Kristo is available for comment any time at
ksmdisabilityconsultancy@gmail.com or by Mob: 0403 871 364