Dewar and National Disability Insurance Agency

In this matter before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Mr Dewar sought a review of a decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency to confirm its original decision regarding his eligibility for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Mr Dewar subsequently requested that the constituted member, Senior Member Joanne Collins, recuse herself from hearing the substantive issue of whether he met the access criteria.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Senior Member Collins should recuse herself from hearing Mr Dewar's application for a merits review. Mr Dewar contended that the Senior Member was not a "fit and proper person" due to alleged ignorance and representing an Occupational Health and Safety issue.

Senior Member Collins reasoned that her appointment as a Senior Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, pursuant to section 6 of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth), satisfied the statutory requirements and deemed her a fit and proper person to conduct matters within the NDIS division. She further noted that Mr Dewar had provided no objective evidence to support his contentions that would warrant her recusal. Consequently, the application for recusal was refused.