Corkish and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by Ms. Corkish for review of a decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to decline her access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The NDIA sought to have Ms. Corkish's application dismissed on the grounds that it had no reasonable prospect of success, primarily due to her age at the time of her application.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms. Corkish's application for review, which concerned the NDIA's internal review decision of 14 October 2022 confirming an earlier refusal of access, should be dismissed under paragraph 42B(1)(b) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) for having no reasonable prospect of success. This required the Tribunal to determine if Ms. Corkish met the eligibility criteria for the NDIS, particularly the age requirement, and whether she had properly sought an internal review of the initial refusal.

The Tribunal noted that Ms. Corkish's first access request was made before her 65th birthday, and the NDIA refused this request on 8 April 2022, advising her of her right to seek a review within three months. While Ms. Corkish's advocate had engaged with the NDIA and explored options for obtaining further supporting documentation, there was no evidence that Ms. Corkish herself had formally requested a review of the 8 April 2022 decision within the stipulated timeframe. Furthermore, the Tribunal observed that Ms. Corkish's subsequent application for review was made after her 65th birthday, and the NDIA's records indicated she did not meet the disability or early intervention requirements. Citing precedent from *Wagner and National Disability Insurance Agency*, the Tribunal concluded that as Ms. Corkish could not meet the age requirement for participation in the NDIS, her application for review had no reasonable prospect of success.

Consequently, the Tribunal ordered that Ms. Corkish's application for review be dismissed pursuant to paragraph 42B(1)(b) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth).