Throughout her tenure, Mackey has been at the helm of overseeing the regulation and safeguarding of disability support services under the NDIS. However, her leadership has been met with criticism from various quarters, particularly regarding her handling of work health and safety issues within the commission.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has been vocal in expressing concerns about the work environment under Mackey’s leadership. According to the union, there have been consistent failures to provide a safe and respectful workplace for commission staff. Issues such as unsafe workloads and mismanagement have been flagged by union members, prompting intervention from workplace health and safety regulators.

In May 2023, the commission received an improvement notice from the workplace health and safety regulator, highlighting the need to address these concerns promptly. However, despite these efforts, the commission continued to face challenges in fulfilling its mandate to regulate and oversee NDIS disability support service providers effectively.

Mackey’s departure is seen by the CPSU as an opportunity to instigate much-needed change within the commission. With her resignation, there is hope that the incoming leadership will address the shortcomings and improve the commission’s ability to protect Australians with disabilities from unscrupulous actors within the disability sector.