NDIS Quality and Safeguard Commission boss Tracy Mackey told staff she was 'saddened' they had expressed workload concerns to media

In May, The Canberra Times revealed the NDIS Commission, which regulates the National Disability Insurance scheme, had been issued a Comcare improvement notice to address unsafe workloads and demands on staff.

The commission contested the notice, which it received on April 28, on the grounds it did not reflect changes implemented to address workloads, and budgetary constraints.

But Comcare upheld its notice after a review, which expressed concerns the commission was failing to manage the "psychosocial hazard of work demands, specifically extremely high workloads".

The agency did not make staff aware of the notice until Comcare completed its review on May 24, two weeks after it was reported in The Canberra Times.

"Over the past two weeks there have been communications circulated by some staff and external parties that are not always accurate," Ms Mackey wrote to staff that afternoon, documents released under a freedom of information request show.

She referred them to an FAQ document with more information on the issue.

Ms Mackey did not address the topic in all-staff correspondence again until June 5, two days after a report in The Saturday Paper on the improvement notice.

"Since the start of my term as Commissioner, I have been engaging with staff and carefully listening to ensure that we respond to the issues raised and work to improve both what we do and how we go about our work," the commissioner wrote in an all-staff email on Monday, June 5.

She said the agency had achieved "substantial headway" in addressing concerns.

"This is why I was concerned and saddened to read the weekend media attributing a very different view," she said.

"I am disappointed that any staff member would choose to use the media to express their views, my preference has always been for staff to share their feedback, questions, suggestions and experiences through one of the many channels that have been put in place over the last year."

The commissioner went on to detail a "journey of continuous improvements" the agency had been on.

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Following the notice, it received a $142.6 million funding boost in the May federal budget, allocated for the next two financial years.

The funds mean the average staffing level at the agency could also rise by 252 places to 683 in the 2023 financial year.

Average staffing levels are a rough figure of how many full-time equivalent employees agencies can hire.

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