#RoboNDIS Royal Commission Campaign

I'm Mark Toomey. In August 2022 I started a campaign to bring justice to many individuals and families who have been harmed by the brutality of #RoboNDIS.

The short story.

I need your help to pay my bills while I continue building a campaign for a Royal Commission into RoboNDIS, followed by a class action. Even a few bucks from a lot of people will help, especially if you ask all your connections to help.

The longer back story.

I saw the need because I manage the affairs of my son, who has complex disabilities and is a participant in the NDIS. I learned that we're like many families, where a parent, son, daughter, sibling, or sometimes even a friend, puts in countless hours to ensure that the person with disability about whom they care gets fair treatment from the NDIS.

RoboNDIS makes RoboDebt look mild by comparison. They came from the same source in government and were driven by the same people.

Like RoboDebt, RoboNDIS works by denying and reducing funding for support desperately needed by Australia's most vulnerable. You may have seen me go head to head with Bill Shorten on Q&A on June 19th 2023. There are many reports from the ABC, The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, The Age, and the Sydney Morning Herald of people and families who have suffered while battling top law firms which do the dirty work of the NDIA.

Over 570 individuals have joined the RoboNDIS campaign via a private Facebook Group now known as NDIS Class Action and Royal Commission. There are more in a public group called RoboNDIS. These people confirm that the NDIS is everything BUT fair. On a broader scale, we are aware of hundreds of battles in the AAT and hundreds more submissions to Inquiries conducted by the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS. These give weight to the claim that the NDIA (the agency that runs the NDIS) is constantly breaching its own legislation.

With have identified physical, psychological and financial harm to participants and those who care for them as the driving force for a class action. A very senior Kings' Counsel told us that to get to the starting gate, we have to identify the cause of action and deliver a clear body of evidence. The RoboDebt Royal Commission demonstrated the clear path to success: We need a RoboNDIS Royal Commission. All the elements are there: The same people were involved in design of both; The algorithmic software fails to align with the legislation; The agency staff are discouraged from customising plans to suit each individual participant; Bully tactics are used to discourage appeals; and Plans are cut without notice.

This is intensive work. It takes virtually all of my time.

I had intended to keep working to at least 70, and probably beyond that. I planned to be a self-funded retiree who lived on a small farm, and was well set up for exactly that when my battle with the NDIA began. Now, at 67, and thanks in major part to the NDIA, I live with PTSD and have no income. I cannot return to my professional life or resolve my financial stress at present.

Because of the farm, I am currently ineligible for the age or disability pension. Where did the retirement nest egg go? That's what I have lived on through 6 years of battling the NDIA.

Services Australia still can't indicate if, let alone when I will get my pension.

But, the injustice of the NDIA behaviour drives me to persist with the campaign.

I am asking people across Australia to support me while I continue to strive toward justice for all who have been harmed by the extreme behaviour of the NDIA, which in many ways mirrors that exposed in the Robodebt Royal Commission.

The contributions that you make here will help me to continue leading the campaign for a Royal Commission into #RoboNDIS and subsequent class action.

To know more about the campaign, take a look at RoboNDIS.org. Also, check out submissions to the JSC NDIS - NDIA Culture & Capability Inquiry My submission is no 150.

Thanks for reading the story. Your support is appreciated.