What a banning order does
A banning order is made by the NDIS Commission when a provider or worker has not followed the law or poses a risk to people with disability. It can stop them delivering any NDIS supports, stop them delivering particular supports or working with particular people, or allow them to keep working only on conditions.
Banning orders can be permanent, temporary or conditional. They apply to individual workers as well as provider organisations, and to unregistered providers as well as registered ones.
Other enforcement actions you might see
A banning order sits at the serious end of a range of tools. The Commission's compliance and enforcement policy says it takes a human rights, risk based and proportionate approach. The actions it publishes include:
- Compliance notice: a written direction to a provider or worker to take, or stop taking, specific actions, often with evidence that they have done so
- Enforceable undertaking: a written commitment by a provider or worker to take or not take specific actions so they comply
- Suspension or revocation of registration: temporarily or permanently taking away a registered provider's registration
- Infringement notice: a financial penalty that can be paid instead of facing court proceedings
- Banning order: stopping or restricting a provider or worker from delivering supports
Actions that are not published
Not everything shows up in a search. Lower level actions, such as warning letters or asking a provider to change its practices, are not listed. Civil court proceedings are not shown in the search either, although the original enforcement action is. The Commission may also hold back details where publishing would not be in the public interest or a participant's interest.
How to check a provider or worker
Enforcement actions are recorded in Part 2 of the NDIS Provider Register. You can check them in a few minutes:
- Use the Commission's search for banning orders and other compliance decisions, by name, state, year or type of action
- Check the separate infringement notice list
- In the Find a registered provider search, choose the status Revoked to see providers whose registration has been revoked
- Ask the worker for their NDIS Worker Screening clearance, which is a separate check
If you are a participant or family
If a provider you use is banned, the ban applies to them, not to you. You will need to move your supports to another provider. A support coordinator, if you have one, can help you find a replacement quickly.
If you are worried about a provider or worker, you can make a complaint to the NDIS Commission. If someone is in immediate danger, call 000.
If you are a provider or worker
You can ask the Commission for an internal review of a decision to issue, vary or not revoke a banning order. You must ask within 3 months of the written notice of the decision. The ban stays in force while the review happens.
The Commission aims to decide internal reviews within 90 days. If you disagree with the outcome, you can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal within 28 days of receiving the review decision. Breaching a banning order is itself a serious matter, so get legal advice early.