Goodliff and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application for an extension of time to appeal a decision of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The applicant, Mr Goodliff, sought to appeal a decision made by the NDIA. The Senior Member of the Tribunal, Chris Puplick AM, presided over the proceedings.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed jurisdiction to grant an extension of time for an appeal where the applicant had been accepted as a participant in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) following an internal review by the NDIA.

The Tribunal reasoned that the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth) and associated rules conferred jurisdiction on the Tribunal to hear appeals from decisions of the NDIA. However, the Tribunal found that once an applicant is accepted as a participant in the NDIS following an internal review, the NDIA's original decision is superseded. Consequently, there is no operative decision of the NDIA from which an appeal can be brought to the Tribunal. The Tribunal held that its jurisdiction to hear an appeal is contingent upon the existence of a reviewable decision, and in this instance, the internal review process had resolved the matter by accepting Mr Goodliff as a participant, thereby eliminating the basis for an appeal.

The application for an extension of time was refused.