Henschke and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the jurisdiction of the Tribunal in a matter between Andrea Henschke (the Applicant) and the National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency). The Applicant sought review of the Agency's decision of 24 July 2020, which rejected her application to become a participant in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The core of the dispute concerned whether the Applicant had validly requested an internal review of the Agency's decision, a prerequisite for the Tribunal to exercise its jurisdiction.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Applicant's email of 4 August 2020 constituted a request for an internal review of the Agency's decision, as contemplated by section 100 of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (NDIS Act). The Agency contended that the email was merely a request for assistance or advice regarding the review process, not a completed request for review itself. The Applicant argued that her email, particularly when viewed in the context of her disabilities, should be interpreted as a clear request for an internal review.

The Tribunal reasoned that its jurisdiction to review a decision under section 103 of the NDIS Act is contingent upon a prior internal review having been conducted under section 100. This requires a formal request for review to be made by the affected person. While acknowledging the Applicant's stated intention and the potential impact of her disabilities, the Tribunal found that the email of 4 August 2020 did not meet the legal requirements of a request for internal review. The Agency had responded by providing clear instructions on how to lodge such a request, which the Applicant did not follow. Consequently, no internal review was initiated or conducted.

As a result, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the Applicant's application for review because the statutory precondition of an internal review had not been satisfied. The application was therefore dismissed. The Tribunal noted that this decision did not preclude the Applicant from making a new application for access to the NDIS.