Downgrading the charges of the Director of Integrity Care for Ann Marie Smith's death

Criminal charges dropped for the Directors of Integrity Care who allowed the death of Anne Marie Smith due to their negligence.  No one checked on  Ann Marie in person and no one checked on the support worker who allowed her to starve and die in her care and be paid for looking after her.   The worker received only 5 years for what was really criminal negligence even manslaughter.  No one checks on providers their workers or the person they are looking after - this needs to change.  There were no cctv cameras in Ann Marie Smiths house for a record of care or neglect as well which would have helped.  We need trained educated workers in disabilities who are supervised and checked regularly and the providers held to account properly and also checked, but most of all there should be in person checks of those vulnerable who are in that care!  Or they are never safe.
The recent lowering of charges for the two women directors of Integrity Care shows how easily people get off charges for hurting a disability person. These women would have been on good money – why couldn’t they do their job properly? So lazy so slack not even checking if Anne Marie Smith was doing ok even once a year they did not care. Now their charges for criminal neglect after she died of starvation, septic wounds, organ failure and severe pressure sores have been lowered to reckless behaviour - after they let a person die. The judges should be ashamed of themselves - would they like it if one of their family died this way – someone normal even?
Anne Marie Smiths actual support worker was given five years imprisonment for her manslaughter and criminal neglect charge. Normally manslaughter is 20 years – so little for taking someone’s life just five years. How could they do this? Probably by dehumanising Anne Marie Smith. Guess what every single person with a disability is a human being with feelings, fears, and thoughts just like you and me. If they dehumanise that person they do not have to feel responsible for them or how they treat them. Yet Ann-Marie had written in her diary how much she missed her parents who had died. She was alone and at the mercy of this worker and this system. Its time to stand up for those who are vulnerable in this society and be their voice! Since the NDIS system and the justice system is failing them.
In the South Australian District Court on Wednesday, both charges against Ms Virgo, 45, were dropped, as was the criminal neglect charge against Collins.
Collins, 46, pleaded guilty to reckless conduct under the Work Health and Safety Act, admitting that she had engaged in conduct that exposed Ms Smith to a risk of serious injury. (The Rural, Abe Maddison, August 12, 2026)
Instead of criminal charges Ms Virgo had them dropped and Collins who pleaded guilty to reckless conduct under the Work Health and Safety act admitted she had engaged in conduct exposing Anne Marie to risk of serious risk of injury. So they have used a different Act to punish Collins with, with a lesser punishment, just five years in prison, and probably will do less than that. Her reckless conduct included failing to ensure Integrity care had a policy that health and capability assessments were performed every 12 months for Ann-Marie given her circumstances and condition the court was told. She should have ensured assessments were performed (by a real person visiting would have been good) and that the care was given information about how cerebral palsy impacted on daily living and care needs. I find this a strange instruction after Rosa Maione had worked with this girl for years she should have known something about how Ann-Marie should have been looked after. Stealing off her and driving the poor woman’s car and getting speeding tickets. She seemed to have no moral care let alone empathy toward the one she worked with and was being paid to care for. No conscience. Yet she was a grandmother.
Of Maione the Support worker who let Anne Marie die the judge said “(she) was grossly negligent and her care for Ms Smith fell well short of the standard expected” noting
“Your incompetence, lack of training, lack of assertiveness, and lack of supervision produced an environment where you failed to provide appropriate care”
The incompetence seems to run in support workers who are not expected to know anything in disabilities and should not be allowed to work with anyone in disabilities. The Australian government leaves the very vulnerable without proper educated or trained workers. The lack of training should be on all providers and on the NDIS which allows anyone to be a worker without any credentials, qualifications or experience work with the very vulnerable. Oh that’s right it’s a business so it doesn’t matter as long as the providers make profits. What kind of callous organization is the NDIS? Not sure why the judge said lack of assertiveness the worker just couldn’t be bothered trying to get any help for Ann-Marie or report she needed more help she might have wanted the money all to herself and saw the woman as a commodity to be used for her income and that was all. Yet I am sure she would not have treated her own children or grandchildren like that and left them to starve? Surely not. Is not Ann-Marie a person to be treated as a person? Yes and yes again but she was dehumanised by a system that was not humane toward her and left her in the hands of money makers. Going after the house her parents left her. She had no voice. Due to Integrity care which had no integrity deregistering itself it was no longer being charged either.
How lucky they all were these directors getting away with murder or manslaughter or criminal neglect, what developed country treats its disability persons like that – backward, dark ages medieval attitudes that give the disabled no rights not even to live? This country.
This must never ever happen again. Butler and anyone else running disabilities should be held to account for any harm that comes to those on NDIS for they are responsible for how they treat the vulnerable and should be made accountable.
all the best
Anndrea x
Sign my petition for cctv to be mandatory in all disability places of care so that our children are more protected and there is evidence to make those who try to harm them accountable and justice is properly given in courts
change.org/disabilitycameras