Fraudulent service provider convicted of rorting $1 million from NDIS

Publisher
Daily Telegraph
Date published
May 2025

Relevant impacts: Human Impact, Government Outcomes Impact, Financial Impact.

Tamara Gai Berridge has been found guilty of defrauding the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) of $1 million over 88 fraudulent payment requests against the plans of 13 NDIS participants. Ms Berridge, who provided cleaning services and household tasks to participants, claimed payment for services that were never provided to participants.

Ms Berridge's misconduct was reported to the NDIS by her customers, with the tip-offs referred to the NDIA's Fraud Fusion Taskforce. In sentencing remarks, Judge Nicole Noman SC noted that whilst Ms Berridge had pled guilty, she had acted in a calculated and deliberate manner to maximise the personal benefit of the fraud, in part to pay for personal travel and a gambling habit.

The conviction follows similar arrests of providers that have claimed payments for services never provided.

Access the source

Related fraudster personas

The Fabricator

The Fabricator invents or produces something that is false to dishonestly gain personal benefits.

The Exploiter

The Exploiter uses something for a wrongful purpose to dishonestly gain personal benefits.

The Deceiver

The Deceiver makes others believe something that is not true to dishonestly gain personal benefits.

Related countermeasures

Collaborate with strategic partners

Collaborate with strategic partners such as other government entities, committees, working groups and taskforces. This allows you to share capability, information and intelligence and to prevent and disrupt fraud.

Resilient clients and stakeholders

Supporting clients, suppliers, providers, contractors, industry partners to protect themselves from scams, exploitation, identity theft and compromise.

Help and support

Help and support to customers, staff and third parties to help them follow correct processes and encourage them to comply with rules and processes and meet expectations.

Verify information

Verify any requests or claim information you receive with an independent and credible source.

Incident reporting

Report on incidents or breaches to help identify if further investigation is required. Clients, public officials or contractors can take advantage of a lack of reporting and transparency to commit fraud, act corruptly and avoid exposure.

Complaints handling

Allow clients, staff and third parties to lodge complaints about actions or decisions they disagree with. This may identify fraud or corruption as a cause for complaints, such as a failure to receive an expected payment.

Submit a case study

We'd like to hear from you if you have a case study to share.

Submit your case study

Was this page helpful?