Collins and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application by Mr Collins to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) following a decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency) regarding his National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan. The dispute centred on whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to consider certain additional supports requested by Mr Collins that were not explicitly addressed in the Agency's internal review decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the scope of its jurisdiction in reviewing the Agency's decision. Specifically, the Tribunal had to ascertain whether it could consider supports that were discussed during the internal review process but were not formally included or decided upon in the Agency's written outcome.

The Tribunal reasoned that its jurisdiction was limited to the matters that were the subject of the Agency's internal review decision. While it was acknowledged that issues concerning support coordination and psychology supports were discussed in the context of the budget and capacity building supports, the Agency's internal review letter did not refer to these specific supports. Furthermore, there was no indication that requests for other additional supports, such as Autism SA conferences, music therapy, social inclusion, and occupational therapy, were made. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider these additional supports as they fell outside the scope of the reviewed decision. However, the Tribunal noted that Mr Collins was not prevented from seeking consideration of these matters through other available Agency processes.