An Atwell man has been fined $5000 and ordered to pay an additional $1886 in costs in the Fremantle Magistrates Court for giving false or misleading information in order to obtain an NDIS worker check clearance (NDIS Check).
The Court found that the man falsely declared that he had not been known by any other names when applying for an NDIS Check in February 2024.
The NDIS Check is a national screening tool designed to protect people with disability who receive services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Worker Screening) Act 2020, it is mandatory for people employed or engaged in certain NDIS work by a registered NDIS provider to apply for and hold a valid NDIS Check.
In April 2024, the NDIS Screening Unit, operating within the Department of Communities, commenced an investigation after receiving information that the man may have been known by other legal names and his NDIS Check was suspended.
The investigation revealed the man had been known by other names, which were linked to a significant criminal history, and had knowingly failed to provide his previous names in order to make the application for an NDIS Check.
The man was subsequently issued an NDIS Check exclusion, indefinitely prohibiting him from engaging in any risk-assessed role for a registered NDIS provider.
Comments attributed to Angelo Barbaro, Executive Director, Regulation and Quality, Department of Communities:
“The NDIS Check is an important safeguarding tool designed to uphold the rights of people with disability, in particular their right to live free from abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation.
“Robust systems are in place to identify NDIS Check applicants and retrieve correct criminal history information.
“Those who knowingly and deliberately attempt to circumvent the process to evade detection will face the force of the law.”
Media contact: 08 6277 5323
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