DXBG and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application for review by the Applicant, DXBG, of a decision made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The dispute centred on whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) had jurisdiction to review the NDIA's decision. The decision was made by Senior Member Mrs J C Kelly of the AAT.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed jurisdiction to review the NDIA's decision dated 8 September 2017, which was a decision not to undertake a review of the Applicant's plan. This question hinged on whether an internal review by the NDIA was a prerequisite for the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

The Tribunal reasoned that the legislation, specifically sections 99(f), 100, and 103 of the relevant Act, mandated an internal review process before the AAT could exercise its jurisdiction. Section 99(f) defined a decision not to review a plan as a "reviewable decision." Section 100 stipulated that a person affected by a reviewable decision could request the Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA to conduct a review, with the outcome to be made by a "reviewer." Crucially, the Tribunal's jurisdiction under section 103 was limited to reviewing decisions made by such a "reviewer" under section 100(6). The Tribunal found that no such internal review had occurred in this instance, and therefore, it lacked jurisdiction.

Consequently, the Tribunal ordered that it did not have jurisdiction to review the decision of the National Disability Insurance Agency dated 8 September 2017.