Adelaide Mother Banned From Working as an NDIS Support Worker After Tribunal Ruling
By Chloe · Published 23 Oct 2026 · Updated 23 Oct 2026
Adelaide, SA · South Australia News
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Adelaide Mother Banned From Working as an NDIS Support Worker After Tribunal Ruling - Adelaide, SA
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South Australia's civil and administrative tribunal has upheld a prohibition preventing a disability support worker from working with children and people with disabilities, citing longstanding concerns about the care...
A woman in Adelaide who worked as a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support worker for five years has been unsuccessful in challenging a decision that prevents her from working with children and people with disabilities.
The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) upheld the prohibition imposed by the Department of Human Services in December 2025. The decision followed concerns about the woman's history of caring for her own children, all of whom had been removed from her care. The tribunal considered whether those circumstances raised risks relevant to her professional work supporting vulnerable people.
The woman had provided disability support services, including driving clients and taking them on social outings. According to the tribunal's judgment, she argued that she was a good support worker, was well liked and had not received complaints about risks to the people with disabilities she supported. She also maintained that she should be allowed to continue working with children because she did not consider herself an unsafe person.
The tribunal nevertheless concluded that the department had grounds to maintain the prohibition. Its decision referred to concerns about the woman's parenting over an extended period, including neglect, emotional abuse, exposure to domestic violence in the case of her older children, and concerns about her ability to protect them.
The judgment said concerns about neglect had appeared repeatedly in departmental investigations between 2004 and 2020. Similar concerns were raised regarding the woman's younger children, although the tribunal noted that domestic violence was not a concern to the same extent in those cases.
The tribunal's ruling focused on whether the woman presented an unacceptable risk in a professional care setting. It stated that its conclusion that she posed a risk to children and people with disabilities did not mean she was certain to cause harm. Rather, the decision reflected the level of risk the tribunal considered acceptable for work involving vulnerable people.
The case highlights the importance of safeguarding arrangements across Australia's disability support sector. NDIS workers may assist clients with everyday activities, transport, personal support and participation in community life. Depending on the role, clients can rely on workers in situations where they have limited ability to protect themselves or report inappropriate treatment.
Prohibition notices and screening requirements are intended to help prevent people assessed as posing unacceptable risks from working in specified care roles. Decisions of this kind can have substantial consequences for employment, making the evidence and the fairness of review procedures important considerations.
The woman had challenged the department's decision through the tribunal process, but the challenge did not succeed. SACAT upheld the prohibition after considering the history of concerns and their relevance to her proposed work.
The ruling also illustrates that a person's past conduct in a family setting can be considered when authorities assess suitability for work involving vulnerable people. At the same time, the tribunal's findings should be understood precisely: its assessment concerned professional risk and suitability, rather than a finding that future harm was inevitable.
The decision leaves the prohibition in place and reinforces the role of independent review in determining whether care workers meet the standards required to support children and people with disabilities.
TribunalPeopleChildrenSupportWoman
A woman in Adelaide who worked as a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support worker for five years has been unsuccessful in challenging a decision that prevents her from working with children and people with disabilities.
The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) upheld the prohibition imposed by the Department of Human Services in December 2025. The decision followed concerns about the woman's history of caring for her own children, all of whom had been removed from her care. The tribunal considered whether those circumstances raised risks relevant to her professional work supporting vulnerable people.
The woman had provided disability support services, including driving clients and taking them on social outings. According to the tribunal's judgment, she argued that she was a good support worker, was well liked and had not received complaints about risks to the people with disabilities she supported. She also maintained that she should be allowed to continue working with children because she did not consider herself an unsafe person.
The tribunal nevertheless concluded that the department had grounds to maintain the prohibition. Its decision referred to concerns about the woman's parenting over an extended period, including neglect, emotional abuse, exposure to domestic violence in the case of her older children, and concerns about her ability to protect them.
The judgment said concerns about neglect had appeared repeatedly in departmental investigations between 2004 and 2020. Similar concerns were raised regarding the woman's younger children, although the tribunal noted that domestic violence was not a concern to the same extent in those cases.
The tribunal's ruling focused on whether the woman presented an unacceptable risk in a professional care setting. It stated that its conclusion that she posed a risk to children and people with disabilities did not mean she was certain to cause harm. Rather, the decision reflected the level of risk the tribunal considered acceptable for work involving vulnerable people.
The case highlights the importance of safeguarding arrangements across Australia's disability support sector. NDIS workers may assist clients with everyday activities, transport, personal support and participation in community life. Depending on the role, clients can rely on workers in situations where they have limited ability to protect themselves or report inappropriate treatment.
Prohibition notices and screening requirements are intended to help prevent people assessed as posing unacceptable risks from working in specified care roles. Decisions of this kind can have substantial consequences for employment, making the evidence and the fairness of review procedures important considerations.
The woman had challenged the department's decision through the tribunal process, but the challenge did not succeed. SACAT upheld the prohibition after considering the history of concerns and their relevance to her proposed work.
The ruling also illustrates that a person's past conduct in a family setting can be considered when authorities assess suitability for work involving vulnerable people. At the same time, the tribunal's findings should be understood precisely: its assessment concerned professional risk and suitability, rather than a finding that future harm was inevitable.
The decision leaves the prohibition in place and reinforces the role of independent review in determining whether care workers meet the standards required to support children and people with disabilities.
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