Golding and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by the Applicant for an extension of time to seek external review of an internal review decision made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The NDIA's internal review decision, issued on 6 March 2023, confirmed a previous decision. The Applicant lodged their application for review with the AAT on 25 July 2023, which was 16 weeks outside the prescribed 28-day time limit. The NDIA opposed the Applicant's request for an extension of time.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to grant the Applicant an extension of time to lodge their application for review. This required the Tribunal to consider the adequacy of the Applicant's explanation for the significant delay and to weigh this against other relevant factors, including the NDIA's opposition. The Tribunal also had to determine if the Applicant had provided a sufficient response to a direction requesting a further and better explanation for the delay.

The Tribunal found that the Applicant's explanation for the 16-week delay was not adequate. While the Applicant cited "changing circumstances" such as being a full-time carer, recovering from surgery, new work responsibilities, and completing a PhD, the Tribunal noted that the specific impact of these circumstances on the Applicant's ability to lodge an application within the time limit was unclear. Crucially, the Applicant failed to comply with a Tribunal direction issued on 11 August 2023, which specifically requested a further and better explanation for the delay, along with any supporting materials. Given the lack of a clear explanation and the failure to comply with the Tribunal's direction, the Tribunal refused the application for an extension of time.