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Standfirst

NDIS participant information is being shared with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission through the 25-agency Fraud Fusion Taskforce that has used Palantir’s analytics platform, Guardian Australia reports.

The NDIA previously denied using Palantir directly. It now confirms participant information is shared on a restricted basis where potential criminal conduct is suspected.

The ACIC says it uses a suite of analytical tools and follows restrictions set by the agency supplying the data. Neither statement answers the decisive question: whether NDIS participant data was ingested into Palantir.

This company was founded by US billionaire capitalist Peter Theil, an influential libertarian political donor known for his contrarian ideologies and high-profile feuds with the media. Thiel has famously argued people with Aspergers syndrome have an advantage being ‘liberated from social conformity’.

That distinction matters. Participants supplied sensitive information to obtain essential support, not to enter an opaque inter-agency surveillance system without clear public explanation.

Bottom line: The NDIA’s narrow denial no longer resolves who can process participant data after the agency shares it.

Dismissal upheld: Human Resources Director reports the Fair Work Commission upheld Home Caring’s dismissal of a disability support worker after finding four separate breaches involving professional boundaries and a participant’s care plan. The Commission found each breach supplied a valid reason and accepted the employer’s investigation and response process.

Source: Human Resources Director | Employment-law report

Providers squeezed: Dynamic Business reports COSBOA and Allied Health Professions Australia are seeking transition support for small practices exposed to NDIS and Thriving Kids changes. ASIC data cited in the report show first-time insolvency appointments among allied-health providers rose from 17 in 2022–23 to 68 in 2024–25.

Source: Dynamic Business | Sector explainer

More reports of hospitals ‘choking’ in NSW

63 patients stranded in Northern NSW hospitals waiting for aged care

Independent News Northern Rivers reports 63 medically fit patients remained in Northern NSW acute beds at 30 June while awaiting aged-care or NDIS placements. Tweed Valley Hospital carried 18, with Grafton, Ballina, Murwillumbah and Lismore also affected.

Source: Independent News Northern Rivers | Paywall: Unknown

St George Hospital hardest hit in NSW bed-blocking crisis

The Leader reports St George Hospital’s stranded-patient count rose from 17 to 64 in a year, the highest total and largest increase in NSW. Across south-eastern Sydney the count more than doubled, from 68 to 157, while NSW Health projects the statewide total could approach 1,700 by June 2027.

Source: St George & Sutherland Shire Leader | Paywall: Yes

Australia: Longer hospital wait times as health feud deepens

Australian Associated Press reports NSW emergency-department stays lengthened even as attendances fell, while Health Minister Ryan Park again blamed Commonwealth aged-care and NDIS placement delays. The report says one in eight accessible NSW emergency beds is occupied by somebody medically fit to leave.

Source: Inquirer.net — Australian Associated Press | Paywall: No

'They deserve so much better': bed block levels 'unsustainable' in Southern hospitals

Bega District News reports 57 Southern NSW hospital beds were occupied by people awaiting aged-care or NDIS placements, 42.5 per cent more than a year earlier. Seven patients were at Batemans Bay, three at Moruya and two at South East Regional Hospital in Bega.

Source: Bega District News | Paywall: Yes

NDIA drops case against Leo Hall, 9, denied NDIS prosthetic eyes

The Courier-Mail reports the NDIA abandoned its tribunal case against a nine-year-old Brisbane boy seeking about $13,500 a year for expandable prosthetic eyes. The prostheses do not provide sight but support facial bone development; the agency had treated them as a health-system responsibility. Summary based on visible public preview only.

Source: The Courier-Mail | Paywall: Yes

Qld's NDIS name and shame list: 620+ providers hit by watchdog

The Courier-Mail reports the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has taken action against 622 Queensland providers since 2019, including more than 120 banning orders. Queenslanders with Disability Network chief executive Michelle Moss says people must be able to raise concerns safely and have regulators act promptly. Summary based on visible public preview only.

Source: The Courier-Mail | Paywall: Yes