In response to complaints received by Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman about the National Disability Insurance Agency's (NDIA) administration of reviews, Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe recently released a report.

The report covers issues on participant-initiated decision reviews for the National Disability Insurace Scheme (NDIS) raised through stakeholder complaints and feedback, which include review completion delays and poor communication. 

According to the Ombudsman's website, although he acknowledges the NDIA's efforts to address these issues, he reiterated the need for signicant improvements.

“It is clear from this report there are a number of areas in which the NDIA can, and should improve its administration of participant-initiated reviews. Without significant efforts to improve the timeliness of its approach and its communication with participants, there remains a risk that participants’ rights to review will be challenged and the review process will continue to be unwieldy, unapproachable and the driver of complaint volumes.” Mr Manthorpe said.

The report included 20 recommendations, which the NDIA has accepted.

Read more about the report on the Ombudsman's website.