The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has suspended automated payments to a business associated with an advocate alleged by former clients and service providers to have submitted invoices for services that were never delivered.
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers received an email from the NDIA saying all automated payments to the ABN of advocate and coordinator Kelvin Steinhardt were suspended, although manual payments could still be processed.
On Monday the ABC revealed several former clients of Mr Steinhardt's business, Keys for Change, allege that while he provided some legitimate services, he also charged thousands of dollars to their NDIS plans for services they never received.
Mr Steinhardt, who is vision impaired, last week denied any wrongdoing but alleged that he terminated the employment of a certain employee for apparent fraudulent activity and this matter was subject to a police investigation.
In the case of another client, he said he had used NDIS funds to pay for a support worker for the family.
Complaints about Mr Steinhardt's billing were made to the NDIA in late 2021 but only last week did the agency send out the email to providers informing them of the suspension of automatic processing.
The email from the Fraud Intelligence and Investigations Branch of the NDIA came soon after the ABC dispatched a series of detailed questions about Mr Steinhardt's billing practices to the agency and to NDIS minister Bill Shorten.
The email from the NDIA states that; "The NDIA conducts reviews of provider claims to ensure the NDIS and participant plans remain financially sustainable.
"A review has been conducted on the claims lodged by plan management agents (PMA) with supporting invoices citing the Australian Business Number of unregistered provider Kelvin Steinhardt.
"As a result of this review, on 19 April the agency will suspend all automated payment requests relating to this ABN.
"This means all future payment requests under this ABN will only be manually assessed prior to being paid."
The email said the provider had been advised to submit all required documentation to the NDIA's Serious and Complex Non-Compliance team via email.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Mr Steinhardt said their client had not received any correspondence citing concerns from the NDIA as of that date.
The lawyers said without having seen the alleged letter, and based on the ABC's citing the contents of the letter, their client did not believe it showed any review had commenced.
"It seems merely to state that they have reviewed invoices and decided to remove automated payments,'' lawyer Eve Lee-Roberts said.
"This does not appear to be a major event, rather it merely seems to be an administrative change in response to media attention on our client. Non-automated payments have always been an option for NDIS users and providers.
"Again, the letter does not appear to state that any review is being undertaken merely that a review of our client's invoices has been undertaken. Should our client receive notice from the NDIA of concerns or that a review is being undertaken, he may provide comment at that time."
The NDIA said it was unable to comment on current or prospective investigation matters.
