How low will they go? NDIA spying on its participants social media – where is privacy now while they surveillance a person's private lives online?
An article today in the Guardian (Luke Henriques-Gomes 1 April 2022) outlines the details of how the NDIA went to the trouble of even scrutinizing the social media of a woman who was applying for her NDIS plan – how low do they go? They sent their ‘intelligence report’ to the tribunal where the woman was applying for her funding and it was seen as less than sound by the tribunal. I find it actually a breach of privacy to go and try and find a woman slipping up in her social media pages trying to find if she is not telling the truth of having a condition when the doctors reports should be enough! How could they stoop so low at to spy on participants? Trying to make a legal footing against someone who needs help and has so little already!
It was noted that the ‘National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) staff reviewed the social media accounts of a woman applying for the scheme and sent a report to a doctor of their own not the women's, engaged to provide an expert opinion, a tribunal decision reveals.
But their “intelligence report”, which included Facebook and LinkedIn posts dating back as far as 2015, was dismissed by a tribunal reviewing her case as “far from sound”. As well as this the NDIA sent their own medical expert who said she did not need the funding whereas her own specialist who had seen her at least three times gave a report that showed the woman did need help with her terrible conditions. This is a very underhand thing to do. One wonders if the NDIA should be charged with contempt of court for lying using a medical 'expert' of their own. A false witness paid to tell lies. A bit like Jesus the lamb of God innocent, but given false witnesses to lie about him and condemn him we do not hear the truth but lies? - Easter coming but there is nothing christian about the way the NDIS is now operating.
Noted by the Guardian 'Her doctor suggested her hypermobility condition would worsen over time. But the specialist witness called by the NDIA told the tribunal that patients did not tend to get more hypermobile as they got older.
The actual woman's specialist report contained “a number of assertions that he saw no evidence to support her self-reports of widespread pain” after examination, the tribunal decision said. Operating like a true insurance company refusing to pay for a claim they use their own doctors.
The tribunal preferred the evidence of the woman’s own specialist, noting it was the result of several interactions with the woman. It rejected the NDIA’s claim the woman was “not a witness of truth” and accepted her evidence.Her doctor suggested her hypermobility condition would worsen over time. But their own specialist witness called by the NDIA told the tribunal that patients did not tend to get more hypermobile as they got older.
His report contained “a number of assertions that he saw no evidence to support her self-reports of widespread pain” after examination, the tribunal decision said.
The tribunal preferred the evidence of the woman’s own specialist, noting it was the result of several interactions with the woman. It rejected the NDIA’s claim the woman was “not a witness of truth” and accepted her evidence.'
Confirmation of the practice, labelled “outrageous” by one federal senator, comes from a recent judgment in a long-running Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s (AAT) case seen by Guardian Australia.’ (The Guardian 1 April 2022)
People always talk on to me about how it’s a breach of privacy if we put cctv cameras in disabilities houses even in the public places, or special needs classrooms and yet cameras are allowed by law as long as they are labelled and we need them to protect our vulnerable and non verbal children and adult children who cannot speak up for themselves and are at risk of harm by workers or violent clients or anyone for that matter. The disability providers don’t want the cameras as they do not want to be liable legally for any abuse or neglect that happens in front of the cameras to our vulnerable children.
I meet a support worker and they say oh no they will use it (the cameras) against us…what is there to use I have to ask if you are not hurting the person you are caring for? The support workers thinking about themselves but not the protection of those they are meant to care for. Our little lambs. Workers often in it just for the money.
People in disabilities services, always go on about privacy of the 'clients' they call them like a true business or 'participants' and yet here is the NDIS spying on people and taking intelligence on them so they can use a legal case not to help them! Where is their compassion they are total without any heart. No one goes to so much trouble to apply for NDIS help unless they need it especially to a tribunal unless they a desperate, but why should they have to be desperate? A tribunal is a heavy lot of paperwork to go through and endure. Even Bill Shorten has commented in this article in the Guardian article (April 2022)that people who have disabilities are being treated like frauds!!
The article today in the Guardian shows the lengths that the NDIA will go to – to stop from having to pay those in need any money. Yet they will appear to care or spend millions for those overseas or appear to have compassion on the need especially if they are in another country. How dare they treat the poor (those physically and intellectually or materially) and money wise like this.
The NDIA did not want the rheumatologists report at the AAT hearing but wanted their dodgy intelligence report to be looked at – what are they stupid? In response to a report from the woman’s treating rheumatologist, the NDIA asked a different specialist to assess her and prepare his own report.
‘Several days before the doctor sent over his findings, the agency sent him “additional material for consideration in the preparation of your report”.
According to the AAT judgment, the specialist was told “not to forward or share the documents attached”.
The rheumatologist called by the NDIA drew upon the “intelligence report” to find the woman did not experience “significant functional impairment” from her chronic pain, the tribunal said.
The social media was prepared in October 2020.’(Guardian 2022,April 1st)
The social media that the NDIA used was also from 2015 whereas this woman’s condition had deteriorated in 2018 so they got that wrong too. This NDIA department sounds like a cheap detectives joint rather than a government organization that is meant to help the Australian vulnerable in society.
It also seems communist to be spying on your own people. Yet they do not want our children to have cameras watching the workers or nonverbal for protection in disability facilities or programs where they have been abused and harmed in the past and still can be with no accountability without CCTV evidence. The police require it, the courts require it. Why deny our innocent lambs our disability children, this protection? They are not devious or scheming like the disability providers appear to be, craftily always trying to suck more funds from our children's NDIS funding in the portal.
. Perhaps we should send private investigators to check out the dodgy disabilities providers that say they will look after our children and then hurt them and lie about it! Lets send a private eye to watch the CEOs of all the disability providers and catch them out at their secret hidden corruption. There is no transparency in these ones for a start.
When the Ceo suspended my son for being hurt at their day program she said I had written about the workers on James Facebook. Why were they looking at the Facebook? These people are sick. My innocent harmless lamb was punched repeatedly to the arm so it was a deep bruising to his arm I was outraged but they always lied - all the providers to cover themselves. No I said to the bully CEO I never named the workers or your organization but now I am going to.... as they are ruthless in how they treat our children ruthless because they only care about the money. It was interesting that they suspending the victim my son who had come home with the bruises from their day program, and that the manager kept coming down in the van (she never usually does) after that incident of assault on my son, so that workers would not talk to me. Cant have that can we? I might find out something. These people are despicable their blatant skull-duggery after failing to care for those they were paid to care for. May they will get it back on them one day. Without CCTV they continue to get away with failed duty of care. Great for them heartbreaking for parents trying to find the right places for their children while workers can be as bad and uncaring as they like with no proof of their actions ever available.
WE should be spying on the NDIS yes we should and keeping them accountable.
“The social media report provides further insight into the lengths to which the agency is going to fight the growing number of legal appeals brought by people trying to get on to the NDIS or who are unhappy with cuts to their plans.
Advocates have criticised the agency for taking a “combative” approach and spending millions of dollars on private law firms to contest cases against vulnerable applicants.
The use of social media monitoring and even private investigators to surveillance welfare recipients is a longstanding practice in the social security system, but within the NDIS fraud investigators have focused on NDIS providers.” (Guardian April 2022)
Yes that is who the investigators should be focusing on - the providers I have encountered fraud in most of the Disability providers with regards to the NDIS funding making false contracts and taking money out without my say so or agreement was so bad I had to report them to the fraud department but I also went to the police fraud who were interested but thought NDIS would deal with it however there is a conflict of interests as the NDIS is more for the providers than the client and seem to want to oppress and hunt down those who are already low with a disability or parents so stressed trying to look after their children How despicable that the NDIA would keep turning on its 'clients' like this the most vunerable in society and with Scott Morrision not even trying to stop this but rather wanting to cut back on the funds of the very organization they created for those who needed the funds so badly. It is a blight on our society that the government would treat those in disabilities with so low regard to be robbed and attacked and accused or things they did not do.
We need to stand up for our rights as parents of disability children and for our children's rights to be free from harm or exploitation of any kind. This government has duty of care to look after those with disabilities they signed the United Nations agreement now they need to honor it. They pledged to take care of those with disabilities and instead they are harming our innocent lambs and then lying about it. Either physically they are harmed or monetarily they are denied and schemed against. This must change we must fight for our lambs and as parents we always will but the rest of society need to know what is going on!
all the best
Anndrea x
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