The Federal Court of Australia has imposed a $1.1 million penalty on Tasmanian NDIS provider Oak Tasmania after finding serious failures in participant safety and incident reporting. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission welcomed the ruling, which found Oak Tasmania did not adequately protect NDIS participants and failed to report hundreds of serious incidents within the required timeframes, breaching its regulatory obligations.
The penalty is the largest ever imposed on a Tasmanian NDIS provider.
Oak Tasmania is a registered NDIS provider which delivered daily living supports to participants in shared living arrangements or group homes.
The court proceedings, initiated by the NDIS Commission, concerned multiple incidents where NDIS participants did not receive competent supports and services while in Oak Tasmania’s care, putting their health and safety at risk.
The Court found instances where care management plans were not followed, staff were not adequately trained to meet participants’ support needs, medical devices and medication were not properly administered, and an adolescent was not properly supervised.
Oak Tasmania admitted to 6 contraventions of the NDIS Practice Standards and Code of Conduct, as well as 474 contraventions of the Reportable Incidents Rules.
The Federal Court found that Oak’s extensive reporting failures deprived the regulator of timely information and compromised “the ability of the Commissioner to keep participants safe.”
In delivering the Court’s judgment, Justice McEvoy said that Oak’s conduct caused or risked causing harm “of the utmost seriousness” to people with disability and that families and carers “likely experienced stress and anxiety in entrusting Oak as the provider of a necessary service” in circumstances of noncompliance with rules designed to protect them.
The judgment also noted that delays in reporting meant some individuals “may have been deprived of prompt, adequate and necessary treatment or responses.”
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner Louise Glanville said the Court’s decision reinforced the importance of safeguarding the rights, safety and dignity of people with disability.
“This penalty sends a clear message that the safety of people with disability is non-negotiable,” Ms Glanville said.
“NDIS providers have a fundamental obligation to deliver safe and competent supports. Registered providers must also report serious incidents to the NDIS Commission, so risks can be identified and addressed.
“When providers fail to meet these obligations, the NDIS Commission will take strong enforcement action to hold them to account.”
As a condition of registration, NDIS providers are legally required to report serious incidents to the NDIS Commission within specified timeframes. These reporting obligations are a critical safeguard designed to protect participants from harm.
Providers that fail to comply with their registration requirements can expect significant regulatory action and penalties.
The total $1.1 million penalty imposed on Oak Tasmania is comprised of:
$850,000 for failures to comply with the NDIS Code of Conduct and Practice Standards; and
$250,000 for failures to comply with the NDIS Reportable Incident Rules.
The Court also ordered Oak Tasmania to pay the NDIS Commission’s legal costs in the total amount of $200,000.
A copy of the judgment is available on the Federal Court website at Commissioner of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission v Oak Tasmania [2026] FCA 7
