NDIS provider jailed for ‘shameful’ fraud depriving participants of support

A disability support provider who “selfishly” and “shamefully” defrauded NDIS participants of hundreds of thousands of dollars over two years — using the cash to fund travel, meals, clothing and tobacco — has been jailed for the offending.

Paul Kevan Tilbury, 58, of Woodforde was sentenced in South Australia’s District Court on Tuesday, after earlier pleading guilty to 19 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

In sentencing, Judge Paul Muscat said Tilbury’s offending included making false claims, duplicating legitimate claims or claiming for inflated hours, for work he described as “support” or “assistance” provided to 19 different clients between 2017 and 2019.

“Your offending was primarily motivated by a desire to portray yourself as successful and to lead a certain lifestyle beyond your means,” Judge Muscat said.

He said Tilbury’s clients required support for a range of conditions including autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, vision impairments, amputations and acquired brain injuries.

“Not only did you deceive the NDIA [National Disability Insurance Agency], but the participants you were supposed to be supporting were, in many cases, not provided with the assistance and support they were entitled to receive through the NDIS,” he said.

At the time of the offending, Tilbury was the chief executive officer of NDIS provider People Come First (PCF), and controlled the bank accounts.

Judge Muscat said Tilbury had falsely claimed more than $400,000 but that some of those claims were later cancelled, and that Tilbury repaid $45,623.

He made an order that he repay the total amount outstanding of $215,086.

Judge Muscat said he rejected claims Tilbury had made about using the money to prop up his business, and said transactions revealed he had spent the money on clothing, private health insurance, gym memberships, jewellery, travel, tobacco, flowers, the installation of a bar, and more than $3,500 for meals at a Japanese restaurant in Melbourne.

“It must not be overlooked that the NDIS is there to provide support, care and assistance to disabled members of our society,” Judge Muscat said.

“You deprived these participants of the full support, care and assistance they deserved and were entitled to, and you did so for selfish reasons.

 

“You shamefully put yourself ahead of your clients.”

Judge Muscat said that Tilbury had recently “somewhat ironically” applied for NDIS funding as a result of his own physical and mental health disorders.

He said Tilbury, who had PTSD and epilepsy, had endured a traumatic upbringing, before working in multiple jobs including as a lecturer at the University of Western Sydney.

He said Tilbury had also claimed to be a doctor when starting PCF, but held “no such qualification” and had only enrolled into a masters course which he had never completed.

Judge Muscat set a single penalty for all of the offences, jailing Tilbury for three years.

He ordered Tilbury to serve at least one year and nine months in custody, before being released on a two-year good-behaviour bond.

Minister for Social Services and the NDIS Amanda Rishworth said “anyone seeking to steal from NDIS participants can expect to face swift justice”.

“The Fraud Fusion Taskforce and the Albanese Labor Government’s Crack Down on Fraud investment are delivering benefits to the NDIS, and providers knowingly doing the wrong thing will face the consequences,” she said.

“We’re continuing to invest in further strengthening of the NDIA’s systems to prevent and detect attempts to exploit participants and funding from this life-changing scheme.”

The NDIA received more than 23,000 tip-offs in 2023-24 about the potential fraud or non-compliance against the scheme.

In 2023, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission “permanently” banned Tilbury from providing any NDIS supports and services.