NDIS provider fined $1.9m over death of at-risk man who choked on a toasted sandwich
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Inadequately trained staff from Valmar Support Services failed to follow dietary advice when feeding the man, judge finds. An NDIS provider has been ordered to pay the largest ever penalty of its kind over the death of an intellectually disabled man, who choked on a toasted sandwich because improperly trained staff failed to follow dietary advice.
The man died in May 2020, three days after being fed by workers at a residential home operated by Valmar Support Services in the Canberra suburb of Richardson. The disability and aged care provider admitted its shortcomings after being pursued by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner in the federal court.
On Wednesday, Justice Elizabeth Raper “reluctantly” ordered the company pay a fine of more than $1.9m due to 24 breaches of legislation governing how NDIS providers operate. She noted the penalty was low given the seriousness of the breaches and their fatal results, saying the court was likely to impose a much higher fine next time over similar conduct.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. The judge described the resident’s death as a terrible event. “Valmar did not provide the level of supports they were required to provide under the NDIS, leading to very grave and tragic circumstances where one of the residents died,” she said in her judgment.
The man was non-verbal, with an intellectual disability, autism, type 2 diabetes and Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder linked to an excessive appetite. Dietary and meal management plans prepared for the man recommended cutting soft or moist food up into small pieces.
