Now lawHealth & Care Introduced in the Senate, 26 Nov 2025

NDIS providers now face fines up to $3.3 million

This law gives the disability support scheme's safety watchdog bigger fines and wider bans. It gets new powers over misleading ads too. Anyone leaving the scheme now gets 90 days to change their mind. Provider claims also move online.

Official name: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026

Who it affects

• People who get support from the scheme: They get stronger protection from unsafe workers and misleading ads. They get 90 days to change their mind if they ask to leave.
• Providers and their managers: They face much bigger fines for serious or repeated breaches, and new crimes for working without being registered.
• Auditors, consultants and business advisers: They can now be banned from disability scheme work if they break the rules or are not suitable.
• Providers who claim payment: The agency that runs the scheme can make them claim a set way, such as online, and ask for more papers before it pays.

One size fits all penalties

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is the disability support scheme. We call it the scheme here. It pays for support for Australians with a disability that is lasting and serious.

The scheme has a safety watchdog, called the Quality and Safeguards Commission. It signs up providers, handles complaints and punishes those who break the rules.

A Royal Commission into disability looked at the scheme. That is the top level of public investigation. An independent review of the scheme did too. Both found its safety checks were not good enough. The Royal Commission asked the watchdog to get much tougher.

This law is the second set of changes the Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced in response. It changes the main law for the scheme, from 2013.

The government's notes say the old law could not give bigger penalties for worse acts. They called it a one size fits all approach. They said it did not scare off big offenders.

New civil penalties

The first section of Part 1 lets the watchdog take people to court for a fine in more cases. A court sets these fines. They do not give you a criminal record. Before, some of these breaches could only be sent off for criminal charges.

Ignoring a request from the watchdog for facts can now bring a fine of up to 60 penalty units. That was $19,800. A penalty unit is a set dollar amount used for federal fines. It was $330 when the bill was written.

Some acts can now bring a fine of up to 120 penalty units ($39,600). One is giving the watchdog false or misleading facts on purpose. Others are leaking the watchdog's protected facts, asking for them, or offering to sell them.

Companies can face up to 5 times the amount.

Bigger fines for serious breaches

The second section brings in the idea of a serious breach. A breach is serious if it is far below what is expected of a provider, or part of a pattern.

To decide if there is a pattern, a court looks at a few things. How many times were the rules broken, and over how long? How many people were hurt? How did the provider handle complaints?

For serious breaches, the top fine is now 10,000 penalty units ($3.3 million). This covers things like lying in an application to be registered, or breaking the scheme's code of conduct. It also covers punishing a whistleblower, someone who reports wrongdoing.

Some services can only be given by a registered provider. Giving them without being registered used to bring only a fine. Now it can also be a crime. It can bring up to 2 years in jail, a fine of 120 penalty units, or both.

Say a company runs group homes with no registration. Staff keep getting hurt over many months. That could now be treated as a serious breach, with a much higher fine.

How the watchdog enforces rules

The third section tidies up the watchdog's powers. It can inspect, give fines without going to court, accept written promises and ask for court orders. These powers now cover privacy breaches as well as provider rules.

A court may find a breach happened but was not serious. It can still order the normal penalty.

Misleading NDIS ads stopped

The fourth section lets the watchdog ban some kinds of promotion. A ban stops a person or business from promoting, advertising or marketing in certain ways linked to the scheme. The Minister sets out the banned kinds in rules.

The government gave examples. Some ads falsely offered holidays paid for by the scheme, telling people to bring their family for free. Others promised investors yearly profits of 10% to over 20% from disability housing.

The person must get a chance to reply first. A ban starts 7 days after it is given. It starts the next day if someone's safety is at risk. Ignoring it can bring a fine of up to 250 penalty units. People can ask for the choice to be looked at again.

Wider bans, tougher penalties

A banning order stops a person doing certain work in the scheme, for a set time or for good. It is the watchdog's strongest tool.

Under the fifth section, bans can now cover more people. They include people applying to become a provider, and auditors who check quality, and their staff. They also include people who give advice on registration or help services run.

Breaking a ban used to bring only a fine. Now it can be a crime with up to 5 years in jail, a fine of 300 penalty units ($99,000), or both. A smaller crime brings 150 penalty units ($49,500). It applies even if the person did not mean to break the ban.

The government gave this example. A worker banned for abuse starts shifts at a small provider six months later, without telling anyone. The watchdog can now act fast. It does not first have to prove the worker meant to break the ban.

Faster requests for information

The sixth section changes how long people get to hand over facts. Normally the watchdog must give at least 14 days. Now it can give less time if it thinks waiting would greatly raise the risk of serious harm to a person in the scheme.

Registered providers must now hand over papers, as well as facts, when the watchdog asks. The Minister can also let the watchdog make its own rules about who it shares facts with.

Certificates used in court

The seventh section lets the watchdog's head sign a certificate with facts about a provider's registration. Examples are when they applied, when they were registered, and what services they can offer. A court will accept the certificate as proof, unless someone shows it is wrong.

Leaving the NDIS

Part 2 deals with the National Disability Insurance Agency. That is the agency that runs the scheme day to day.

Before, you could leave the scheme just by telling the agency in writing. Now you make a request, and the agency must write back. It must explain what you lose by leaving and how to cancel your request.

You only leave after at least 90 days, so you have time to change your mind. The agency can make that time longer. Someone else may get your mail for you, such as a person chosen to act for you. If so, the letter must go to you as well.

Claims and plan changes

Providers who claim payment from the agency may now have to use a set method, such as an online system. This lets the agency move to claims that are fully online.

The agency can ask for more facts or papers about a claim. You get at least 14 days to reply. If you do not, it will not pay, but you can claim again. The agency can still pay if there is a good reason the papers were late.

The law also makes clear that the agency can change a person's plan so the total money goes up or down. The government says this gives the agency no new power to change plans. People can still ask for a review of a plan change.

Start date

The bill was brought to the Senate, Parliament's second house, on 26 November 2025. A group of senators looked at it. Their report was due on 20 March 2026.

The Senate passed it on 31 March 2026 with seven changes. One came from the government, three from the Liberal and National parties, and three from the Greens. This article describes the bill as first brought in. The House of Representatives, where the government is formed, passed it on 1 April 2026.

The Governor-General, the King's representative, signed it into law on 8 April 2026. Its official number is Act No. 41 of 2026. Part 1, the watchdog changes, started the next day. Part 2, the agency changes, started 28 days after signing.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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