Why I am deregistering from the NDIS

I have had a lot of questions thrown at me lately on our Facebook page, ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/ndisnewbienetwork ) and the most common one has been; "Why are you deregistering your Support Coordination company from the NDIS, isn't it becoming mandatory?"

Yes, it is looking more than possible that all providers will need to be registered to be part of the NDIS. Let's talk about why I am not going to be a part of that.

As a registered provider in the NDIS, I've made a monumental decision that has been met with both curiosity and concern. I am deregistering.

This decision hasn't been made lightly, nor has it been a sudden whim. It's been brewing beneath the surface, fuelled by a multitude of frustrations and issues that I can no longer sit comfortably with.

At the forefront of my decision lies the auditing process, a system purportedly designed to uphold standards and ensure quality care. Yet, in practice, it has become a farce. Every 18 months, my business is subjected to audits that come with a hefty price tag, often upwards of $7,000. Let me be clear: the simple fact I have chosen to be registered for almost 5 years, have gone through audits multiple times, hopefully shows that I believe that auditing and oversight is important, and wanted to be part of that from day one.

However what is disconcerting is the lack of transparency in the oversight of auditors themselves. Who watches the watchers? It's a question that I don't have the answers for just yet, as I don't have the time to research it (too busy with all the compliance actions across 30 tabs on a spreadsheet I have to fill out each week).

These auditors, some of whom are relatively new to the NDIS landscape, wield significant power over providers like myself, despite their sometimes limited understanding of the intricacies of the system. How can I, in good conscience, entrust my business to individuals who may not actually have the same depth of knowledge and experience that I have spent years building?

The inconsistency in auditing practices only adds fuel to my fire. My colleagues and I have compared notes, only to discover pretty wild differences in how we are audited. How can we be expected to navigate these murky waters when the rules seem to change depending on who's holding the magnifying glass? I'm truly over it and to pay so handsomely for the privilege of this inconsistency, is a slap in the face to me.

But my disillusionment with the NDIS runs deeper than bureaucratic red tape. It's about the outrageous issues and problems that permeate every part of the scheme, creating an environment where the NDIS actively tries to undermine the very people they are meant to support, rather than help them feel hopeful for the future. Is it just me, or does the NDIS seem to be in the business of traumatising people, rather than supporting them, these days? For five years, I poured my heart and soul into building a business that thrived on excellence, ethics, and integrity. Yet, at every turn, the NDIS has put up barriers that impacted on us and the people we support , in a negative way.

Let's have a look at the NDIS commission.

Of the very tiny amount of complaints that my business ever had made against them to the commission, one stands out to me as a key turning point in where it all started to go wrong. One morning at 2am I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I ended up requiring emergency surgery. Let's not start on the hospital system, but I ended up being in hospital for 5 days laying in hospital bed, awaiting said surgery, (an emergency is not an emergency if they have enough painkillers apparently). What did I do? I had a family member bring me my laptop, so I could continue to work from my hospital bed and ensure participants were not left without support. Unfortunately, one participant decided that me being off the air for 24 hours, was not good enough and made a complaint about my lack of "continuity of support" to the commission. I am glad that participants have this option, and I am not here to discuss the merits of their complaint. What I am going to talk about however is that the complaint took six months of bureaucratic wrangling to resolve, with the NDIS commission offering little more than condescending "education" on how I could have handled the situation better. Which they followed up with two A4 pages of "education" in writing. Meanwhile, real issues, such as support workers abusing vulnerable participants, are brushed aside with little more than a slap on the wrist. Providers who are outright rorting the system get away with it every single day. I'm not available for 24 hours? (I was registered independent then too) and all hell breaks loose.

It's a stark reminder of the misaligned priorities that plague the NDIS, where paperwork takes precedence over people, and accountability is a mere afterthought. I refuse to be complicit in a system that prioritises bureaucracy over compassion, where genuine concerns are dealt with and prioritised based on if you have registered or not.

And then there's the issue of fraud and rorting in the system. Every day, I'm confronted with people gaming the system, uneducated providers, providers who are mad at me as an SC provider for "wasting their time", by pointing out the fact that they are overcharging, or they don't understand the rules, or they are simply terrible at what they are doing. All the while I struggle to uphold the highest standards of integrity. It's a thankless task, one that has left me burnt out and jaded.

I think one of the most damning problems within the NDIS is its impact on mental health. As someone with lived experience of complex mental health issues, I understand firsthand the toll that a broken system can take on one's well-being. I have been in recovery for over ten years from mental health concerns, using my lived experience to help others and inform my practice, hell, I even teach that stuff at uni, I got this! Or do I?

Over the last couple of years, I started to realise that my resilience was waning and my ability to withstand the pressures of this job was lowering. I started to really examine what was going on, and why was my mental health going down the toilet? Yet, my commitment to what I was doing kept me going. I have loved running my own business, helping people, doing important things! However, as time passed, I have realised that I am waking up and saying to myself, "I don't want to deal with the NDIS anymore" At this stage I feel like the NDIS is stoking the flames of all my stress and gnawing away (quickly) at my previously solid mental health.

It's taken me years to come to terms with the reality that the system I work in is irreparably broken. And so, I've made the difficult decision to walk away, to chart a new course that aligns with my values and passions. It's a gradual transition, one that requires careful planning and consideration. But I refuse to be involved in a system that no longer serves the best interests of those it was designed to support.

In the future, my main commitment will be to devote my efforts to education and mentoring. I know the best place for me is to help others navigate the complexities of this system with integrity and compassion. I am writing courses and blogs, and I am developing lots of other side hustles that I am actually passionate about and take me (mostly) away from the harm the NDIS is doing to Participants and their Support Coordinators. I don't even know how long Coordinators will be around, so I like to prepare. No point hanging around in a system that is trying to get rid of me, I like to feel wanted! I don't have a husband, this is all I have got!

Registration certainly has some benefits for those who want or need to work with agency-managed participants, and I would like to point out that I believe in the principals of registration. What I don't believe in is the incompetent and utterly stupid way the NDIS has gone about it. It makes absolutely no sense in the way it is currently rolled out and there are to many anomalies and too many holes to be poked in it. It is a flawed system and requires proper consideration and trialling as to how it will work for everyone. I don't expect the NDIS will do that as they are notoriously terrible at rolling out anything that has had any true thought put into it (I'm looking at you PACE)

The primary motivation for registering should be to ensure safety and oversight for participants. Currently, being registered makes not one bit of difference to that, in my opinion.

So, to the question of why I have deregistered from the NDIS, I say this: I refuse to sacrifice my integrity and mental health to a system that has turned into a parody of what it was meant to be. And I refuse to stand idly by while vulnerable individuals are failed by those entrusted with their care. I am packing my bags and like any good holiday, it takes time and patience to get there but good times and much better things await!

Change begins with a single voice, a single act of defiance. And though I may be but one provider among many, I will die on my hill alone if I have to! The NDIS is a mess and I will not pay money to be part of their broken system until they fix it in a way that doesn't harm people, and doesn't encourage providers to rip people off, hurt them and do the wrong thing, with little to no consequences.

*Please note: In this blog, I am referring to my individual company. Mind Grown is not a registered NDIS provider and our goal is to educate and mentor those in the disability, community and mental health sectors, and we do not work directly within the NDIS sector.