The head of the government watchdog for the NDIS swore and said she might have to resign after she discovered she had made a mistake in telling Four Corners the regulator had shut down a program where children with disabilities were abused, court documents allege.
Just publish a statement correcting the record. People are allowed to make mistakes, and it’s stupid that we have this thing where someone says something incorrect and that it, loses their job.
That isn’t to say that the Qantas and Optus CEOs should’ve kept their positions - they both fronted up to senate committees after pretty big public failures of process. They probably deserved to fall on their swords.
This is a completely different situation to those companies. This isn’t a consumer product it’s human rights. This is a government agency tasked with safeguarding human rights.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The head of the government watchdog for the NDIS, Tracy Mackey, swore and said she might have to resign after she discovered she had mistakenly told the ABC the regulator had shut down a program where children with disabilities were abused, court documents allege.
In his evidence to the Federal Court, Dr Chan says he consulted colleagues and discovered that the program had in fact remained open and that Ms Mackey had already been supplied this information in a briefing document prepared for the Four Corners interview.
His failure to escalate the continuing problems with Irabina is the basis for Dr Chan’s suspension, with the NDIS Commission saying it could constitute a breach of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct.
“He was suspended in circumstances where issues relating to Irabina had been present since September 2019, long before Dr Chan’s limited involvement in mid to late 2022,” his lawyer Mia Pantechis from Maurice Blackburn said.
Despite the commission issuing compliance notices and engaging in education programs over the years, emails released as part of the court case show Irabina was still found to be “using physical restraints that were not proportionate to the risk presented” as late as November 2022.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing court matter, adding: “I have made it patently clear my expectation is that there needs to be a complete culture change at the commission and proactive participant safeguarding must be the highest priority.”
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