The ‘fraud triangle’ crushing our trust, from gangs to the NDIS

April 26, 2026 — 5:00am

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On Thursday morning, readers of The Sydney Morning Herald woke up to front-page fraud. The three top stories were an overhaul of the NDIS to clear out shonky providers, announced the day before by Health and Disability Minister Mark Butler; millions of dollars being laundered through poker machines by people whose occupations could not justify the possession of such large sums; and the alleged pilfering of $1.5 million in cash and purchases from billionaire Judith Neilson by her private secretary.

Side by side, each story exhibits the three points of the “fraud triangle” – a model explained to me by Paul Curby, founding partner of Curby McLintock, a boutique professional services firm specialising in fraud and corruption risk. Experts use the triangle to explain fraud risk within an organisation. The three points of the triangle are motivation, opportunity and rationalisation.

The sheer scale of the fraud represented by this front page is staggering. In his National Press Club address, Butler referred to a lack of integrity in the NDIS system that has “opened the door to the worst parts of organised crime”. He cited information provided by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission that “criminals are paying cash kickbacks to participants and their families, and sometimes resorting to intimidation and threats of violence towards vulnerable people”. He described the NDIS as having become “an ATM for shonks, grifters, fraudsters and crooks”, in which “large cash withdrawals,........

© The Sydney Morning Herald