Avoiding Conflict of Interest
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮 “𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽” 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿?
Nowadays, it is common for providers to deliver various NDIS services, including the Plan Management service.
In this case, in most circumstances, in order to engage with their direct support (support coordination, support works etc), the clients must also use their Plan Management service or find it more convenient to do so.
The real question is: “𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘋𝘐𝘚 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵?”
Surprisingly, it might not be.
Given the nature of work, a good plan manager should 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 for their clients. Conflicts of interest can arise when a provider who issues the invoice will also be the person to process and claim the payment. This could result in a high 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝘀 being overlooked or not identified, and thus evidently is not in the best interest of the NDIS participant.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁? 
Every NDIS provider has the responsibility to have the best interest of the NDIS participants in mind
When it comes to the factor of money, naturally, it’s challenging to stay unbiased and neutral. Unfortunately, this is when the best interest of the client is no longer the priority
Therefore, Plan Managers should work independently with other service providers to fulfil the goal of protecting the NDIS participant’s funding
It is very common for NDIS participants and families to place their full trust in providers and not review or double-check their invoicing details.
𝘈𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘊𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥:
Incorrect rate
Incorrect date of support (for some NDIS services, the rate for weekdays, weekends and Public Holidays are totally different)
Charge for appointments that were previously cancelled
Charge from different business names for the same service
Overcharge the hours or quantities
And many others
If the person who creates the invoice is also the person who claims this invoice, could mistakes possibly be more difficult to identify?
𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴:
It reduces the “choice and control” of the participants
Could potentially take advantage of disabled people to gain personal benefits
While this may not be the motive of providers who want to help those in the NDIS, it may be a concerning red flag for many other issues in the future, including invoicing errors.
At HiCom Care, we work towards supporting clients' benefits and cooperate with other providers to protect the client’s funding and safety. We are devoted to making sure each and every client feels comfortable being with us and hope to help make the NDIS less stressful. 
Clear and logical decision making when choosing providers will make your NDIS journey much simpler.
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