Maybe one day this'll be SPA management. Taken from:...

Maybe one day this'll be SPA management. Taken from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-10/is-ndis-provider-putting-growth-above-disability-care/100199988

The National Disability Insurance Scheme has been a cash splash for big players in the sector, and few have benefited quite like the Australian Foundation for Disability – otherwise known as Afford.

Key points:

Founded in 1951 to help polio victims, Afford has grown rapidly in recent years, fuelled by NDIS fundingClients and their families have accused the organisation of compromising safety in its pursuit of higher profitsA disability advocate says Afford's spending on hospitality for staff is not appropriate for a charity

Since the launch of the NDIS in 2013, Afford has more than doubled its clients to more than 4,000 and increased its annual revenue from less than $50 million in 2015 to almost $120 million last financial year.

But beneath the glossy corporate veneer there is trouble at this western Sydney-based charity.

ABC Investigations has discovered Afford's phenomenal growth has been accompanied by serious concerns from some staff and families about client safety, lavish spending by executives on alcohol and entertainment, and a creeping corporate culture that critics say puts profit before everything else.

We have obtained financial records showing one manager spent thousands of dollars on a corporate credit card at bars and pubs last year, including $1,500 in a single night at a Gold Coast nightclub.

Afford chartered the Seven Star superyacht for a cruise on Sydney Harbour for senior managers last month.(

Sydney Harbour Specialists

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Last month, a group of Afford staff enjoyed a luxury Sydney Harbour cruise on board the superyacht Seven Star, which according to its website costs at least $2,250 per hour to rent – plus catering.

Some disability sector figures, like Autism Awareness Australia's chief executive Nicole Rogerson, see Afford's problems as a cautionary tale for other big charities now bulging with cash from the NDIS.

"We've seen a massive upswing and the corporatisation of the NDIS, and now we have service providers getting bigger and bigger and wanting to provide services to people with a disability and make a buck," she said.

Tanya Petrus, whose daughter, Merna Aprem, died while in the care of an Afford group home in 2019, shares those concerns.

"It's all about the money," she said.