"I've been in the business of disability
and mental health for about 45 years
and I think in all of that time I haven't
heard of anything as hair-raisingly
awful as the experiences that Ann
Marie went through," he said.
"It's every parent’s nightmare to think
that when you're no longer around
or you can no longer look after your
son or daughter with a disability that
somehow or another they will not
be looked after properly. It pervades
your worries."
She might not have been checked on,
but authorities did know Ms Smith
existed.
Her care was provided by the state
run agency Disability SA until 2018
when she transitioned onto an NDIS
plan, where she was funded for six
hours care a day.
Integrity Care SA was fined by the NDIS for not reporting the death. (ABC News: Mahalia
Carter)
Dr Caudrey, who was once head of
Disability SA, said while the NDIS
gives people more freedom and
choice, it also opens up more gaps in
the system.
"There are multiple players and when
there are multiple players, if you're
not careful you find each player
defines what they do and everybody
thinks that somebody else is taking
responsibility," he said.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards
Commission is investigating what
happened to Ms Smith, and since the
police press conference, there have
been 16 calls to Crime Stoppers with
information about the case.
Until they yield answers, Ann Smith's
neighbours, and the rest of the
community, are left wondering how a
woman living in such a nice house, on
a well-kept street, could have been so
terribly neglected.
Flowers and cards left outside Ann Marie Smith's house in Kensington Park. (ABC News:
Ben Nielsen)
Ms Smith was cremated at the
Centennial Park Cemetery on May 13,
and her remains returned to a funeral
home.
Source: www.abc.net.au/news/2020-
05-23/little-is-known-about-the-lifeof-ann-marie-smith/12275658
"It's not even good to think about it
but we just didn't know the details of
it. We assumed that the carers were
caring," neighbour Klara Fynnaart
said.
EBL QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER 9