The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a public warning that it will be cracking down on misleading advertising targeting vulnerable National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants.
The ACCC has been working with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, looking at advertising that may be in breach of Australian Consumer Law.
The regulator is alleging some businesses are advertising products specifically to NDIS recipients, claiming they can use their funding to pay.
Under changes that came into effect in October, NDIS participants can now only spend funding on approved NDIS supports or an approved replacement. The move attracted attention at the time, since NDIS participants would no longer be able to spend their funding on non-approved supports such as sex workers and vapes.
ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe says they’re concerned vulnerable customers will be tricked into thinking they can purchase a product using their NDIS funding, only to be stuck with a bill they can’t pay.
“The ACCC is concerned that many businesses continue to advertise goods or services that appear on the list of ineligible supports in a way that suggests NDIS funding can be used to purchase them,” Ms Lowe said.
“We are also concerned that many NDIS providers are claiming that certain products or services are ‘NDIS approved’, ‘NDIS funded’ or otherwise NDIS endorsed when this is not the case.”
The types of concerning advertisements the ACCC is warning of include:
- Ads using the words ‘NDIS approved’, as the NDIS itself does not have the function of approving or endorsing particular goods or services.
- Ads that suggest NDIS funds will cover ‘all inclusive’ holidays, when general costs associated with holidays would not be covered.
- Meal delivery services suggesting the cost of meals can be covered by the NDIS, when the NDIS does not cover food expenses.
- Ads providing instructions on how to use NDIS funding codes to cover costs of recreational services such as going to the movies or a theme park.
- Ads that use the actual term ‘NDIS’ in the business or product name, suggesting the product or service is affiliated with the NDIS.
“NDIS providers should be aware that we are closely monitoring and responding to how they advertise their products and services to consumers, and that we will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action if we consider advertising is false or misleading,” Ms Lowe says.
Have you seen any advertisements promoting NDIS products or services? Were you aware that NDIS funding rules had changed? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: Are whitegoods disability supports? Here’s what NDIS reforms say
