IRINA Hopkins has been camped outside the offices of an NDIS service provider for almost two weeks.
She’s on a hunger strike, claiming she’s been mistreated, despite a QCAT judgement which says her provider has done the right thing.
In September last year, Ms Hopkins, who has experienced mental and physical health struggles for the majority of her life, faced the threat of eviction from her NDIS-provided housing.
Ms Hopkins’ support worker, Tieran Brownlee, who runs his own NDIS service delivery company MyPeeps – which is not affiliated with the provider Ms Hopkins has accused of misconduct – said the provider insisted Ms Hopkins use their services as a condition of her accommodation.
Mr Brownlee said Ms Hopkins was threatened with eviction – he says after complaining about the quality of service.
Lawyers speaking on behalf of the provider denied the allegations, saying they had no intention of evicting Ms Hopkins.
In December, however, the NDIS service provider contacted Ms Hopkins, letting her know they had lost its lease on her housing.
“She was given notice at the beginning of December that they were no longer the landlord,” Mr Brownlee said.
“This decision followed significant financial pressure on our side, and we were unable to continue the tenancy or maintain access for required maintenance,” a notice to Ms Hopkins said, referring to the Woodridge home she was staying in.
Ms Hopkins was left homeless, and the resulting tenancy dispute landed in the state’s courts.
The provider’s lawyer said their client denied allegations of wrongdoing and that they had referred Ms Hopkins’ matter to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to be resolved through the appropriate legal process.
Mr Brownlee advised QCAT that the provider had lost the lease on the property and had no legal standing in whether the new leaseholder should evict Ms Hopkins.
The NDIS provider then added the property’s owner as a party in the order’s proceeding, according to Mr Brownlee.
The QCAT hearing into the matter early this month resulted in Ms Hopkins being evicted from her housing.
“I have to emphasise that Irina wasn’t kicked out or evicted for any breach on her part,” Mr Brownlee said.
“The owner got a warrant of possession because the NDIS provider had lost the lease.
”He said it was unusual for a registered provider of disability accommodation to lose a lease on a property that was sub-leased to a disability tenant.
Ms Hopkins has been on her hunger strike since the court case ended.
Mr Brownlee said Ms Hopkins wanted to ensure others weren’t put in a similar situation to her, claiming now to be homeless.
“She just doesn’t want a repeat of what she’s just experienced,” he said.
“She wants some permanent, safe, and secure accommodation moving forward.
”Mr Brownlee and Ms Hopkins have lodged a complaint about these matters to the Quality and Safeguards Commission.
