Afford’s recruiting under fire

DISABILITY service provider the Australian Foundation for Disability (Afford) and the NDIS service regulator have come under increased scrutiny during the third day of the disability royal commission.

A senior executive of Afford from 2015 until early 2020 contributed to the royal commission via a written statement. Under the pseudonym of Rachel, she outlined ongoing pressure from the company’s former chief executive, Steven Herald, to recruit large numbers of staff, up to 50 per month, to keep up with the rapid growth of Afford.

Rachel said towards the end of her tenure she had growing concerns staff being promoted from direct support roles did not have abilities to cope in managerial positions and that this may have had an impact on the quality of service.

“Towards the end of my time at Afford, I was increasingly worried that the safety and quality of our services and respect for the rights of the clients were not the top priority.”

A first-of-its-kind civil proceeding against Afford was set to open on Wednesday in the Federal Court over the death of 20-year-old Merna Aprem, but was vacated until May 30.