Austin and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute between Austin and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The applicant, Austin, sought an internal review of a decision made by the NDIA. However, the NDIA had conducted an unscheduled plan review under subsection 48(2) of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth) prior to the internal review application. The central issue before the Tribunal was whether Austin's consent was required for the NDIA to conduct this unscheduled plan review.

The Tribunal was required to determine the legal question of whether the NDIA's action of conducting an unscheduled plan review under s 48(2) of the Act necessitated the consent of the participant, Austin, before an application for internal review could be validly made or considered. This involved an interpretation of the interplay between the NDIA's power to conduct reviews and the participant's right to seek an internal review of decisions.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal analysed the provisions of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013*. It concluded that subsection 48(2) grants the NDIA the power to conduct a review of a participant's plan at any time, and this power is not contingent on the participant's consent. The Tribunal found that the NDIA's decision to conduct an unscheduled plan review was a lawful exercise of its statutory power. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that the subsequent application for internal review was not invalidated by the NDIA's prior action, as the unscheduled review did not preclude the applicant's right to seek an internal review of the original decision.