We're really worried about the same group of workers being churned through the system
In the fragile ecosystem where care work meets commercial labour hire, United Foundation's entry into voluntary administration this week reveals how thin the margin has become between keeping disability support workers employed and leaving both them and the people they care for in uncertainty. Roughly 480 workers across New South Wales and South Australia now face an unstable horizon, as do the more than 1,000 NDIS participants who depend on their presence. The collapse is not merely a business failure — it is the second act of a story many of these same workers have already lived through, raising quiet but urgent questions about who bears the cost when the architecture of care is built on precarious foundations.
- United Foundation entered voluntary administration under the simultaneous weight of incoming NDIS registration rules, late scheme payments, and rostering costs that consistently outpaced funding — a triple pressure that left no room to manoeuvre.
- Within 24 hours of administrators taking over, 27 workers were made redundant, shattering the company's early assurances that operations and pay would continue uninterrupted for all staff.
- The wound cuts deeper because many of these workers had already lost jobs when United Employment collapsed last year and moved to United Foundation seeking stability — some still waiting on unpaid entitlements from that first collapse.
- The Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating both companies, and Federal Court proceedings are underway examining the director's connection to the earlier failed entity, adding legal complexity to an already fraught situation.
- Administrators are now weighing restructure, sale, or wind-up options, while unions are pressing New South Wales to introduce labour hire licensing in the disability sector before another operator enters the market without adequate scrutiny.
United Foundation, a labour hire company staffing around 480 disability support workers across New South Wales and South Australia, entered voluntary administration this week. The company, which supports more than 1,000 people in NDIS-funded independent living arrangements, cited three converging pressures: new provider registration rules due July 1, delayed scheme payments, and scheduling costs that consistently exceeded the funding received.
Administrators from Mackay Goodwin were appointed, and director Karim Amin told staff in an internal email that voluntary administration — rather than liquidation — was a survival measure, with wages, superannuation, leave, and visa sponsorship to continue. That reassurance lasted less than a day. Twenty-seven workers deemed non-essential were let go, with administrators citing the need to cut costs to protect essential services.
What gives this collapse its particular weight is the pattern it repeats. Many of the workers now facing redundancy had already been displaced when United Employment, another disability sector labour hire firm, collapsed into liquidation last year. Some had joined United Foundation specifically to find steadier ground. The ASU NSW union's Angus McFarland noted that workers from that first collapse were still awaiting unpaid entitlements a year on, and expressed deep concern about the same cohort being cycled through insolvency again. The federal Fair Entitlement Guarantee has processed most claims from the earlier collapse, but the process is slow and new uncertainty has arrived before the old wounds have healed.
Karim Amin is separately contesting ASIC records showing he held a directorship at United Employment for eight months — a matter now before the Federal Court. The Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating both companies. Administrators will determine whether United Foundation can be restructured, sold, or wound up, while unions push New South Wales to introduce licensing requirements for labour hire operators in the disability sector, arguing the state currently has no meaningful gatekeeping to prevent unsuitable providers from entering the market.
United Foundation, a labour hire company that employs roughly 480 disability support workers across New South Wales and South Australia, entered voluntary administration this week. The company, which provides staffing for more than 1,000 people living in supported independent living arrangements through the National Disability Insurance Scheme, blamed three converging pressures: new NDIS provider registration rules taking effect July 1, payments from the scheme arriving late, and the cost of scheduling workers exceeding what the company received in funding.
The move came as a shock to staff, though the company framed it as a survival tactic rather than a death sentence. Administrators from Mackay Goodwin were appointed to manage the process. In an internal email, United Foundation director Karim Amin told employees that voluntary administration—as opposed to liquidation—would allow the business to keep operating and paying staff while financial problems were sorted out. The company promised that wages, superannuation, leave entitlements, and visa sponsorship would continue uninterrupted.
But within a day of the administrators taking over, 27 workers classified as "non-essential" were laid off. Mackay Goodwin said the cuts were necessary to reduce costs and keep essential services running. The administrators acknowledged the hardship this created and said they would communicate entitlement options to those affected.
What makes this collapse particularly bitter is the pattern it creates. Many of the workers now facing redundancy had already been displaced when United Employment, another labour hire provider in the same sector, collapsed last year and went into liquidation. Some had moved to United Foundation hoping for stability. Now they are cycling through the system again. Angus McFarland, secretary of the ASU NSW union, said workers from the first collapse were still waiting on unpaid entitlements from 12 months earlier. "We're really worried about the same group of workers being churned through the system," he said.
The Fair Entitlement Guarantee, a federal scheme that helps workers recover unpaid entitlements when employers go insolvent, has processed 110 claims from the 117 former United Employment employees who applied. But the process is slow, and workers are now facing fresh uncertainty before those matters are fully resolved.
Karim Amin, United Foundation's director, is separately contesting ASIC documents that show he was a director of United Employment for eight months. That case is being heard in Federal Court. The Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating both United Employment and United Foundation, though investigators declined to comment while the inquiries are ongoing.
The administrators will now work through options: whether the company can be restructured, sold to another operator, or ultimately wound up. The National Disability Insurance Agency, which runs the scheme, has been asked for comment. Meanwhile, the union is pushing for New South Wales to introduce a licensing scheme for labour hire firms in the disability sector, arguing that the state currently lacks the regulatory gatekeeping needed to keep unsuitable operators out of the market.
Notable Quotes
Voluntary administration is the opposite move to liquidation. It lets us keep trading while we sort the finances out so the business survives and your jobs continue.— Karim Amin, director of United Foundation, in internal email to staff
We still actually haven't secured the entitlements from 12 months ago and now they're being told they're going through it again.— Angus McFarland, ASU NSW secretary, on workers displaced by both collapses
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did United Foundation wait until now to enter administration? Were there warning signs earlier?
The director pointed to three things hitting at once—new registration rules, delayed payments from the NDIS, and costs outrunning revenue. It's possible those pressures built gradually, but the July 1 deadline for new provider rules seems to have forced a decision point.
So the NDIS itself is partly responsible for this collapse?
The company blamed delayed payments and the regulatory changes, yes. But it's also a labour hire model problem—the margins are thin when you're scheduling workers and the funding doesn't quite cover the rostering costs.
What's the worst part for the workers?
Some of them went through United Employment's collapse last year, got entitlements stuck in the system, moved to United Foundation for a fresh start, and now they're doing it all over again. They're still waiting on money from the first collapse.
Is there any chance United Foundation survives this?
Voluntary administration doesn't guarantee anything. The administrators will look at restructuring, selling the business, or winding it up. But with 27 people already laid off and the regulatory environment tightening, survival looks uncertain.
What about the 1,000 NDIS participants who depend on these workers?
That's the real vulnerability. If the company folds entirely, those people lose their support workers mid-arrangement. The administrators say they'll keep operating during the process, but there's no guarantee about what happens next.
Is anyone being held accountable?
The Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating both companies. And Amin is in Federal Court contesting whether he was actually a director of United Employment. But accountability and worker entitlements are moving at different speeds.