Higson and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application for review by Mrs Deborah Higson of a decision that she did not meet the access requirements for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether Mrs Higson was eligible to access the NDIS.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mrs Higson met the age requirement stipulated by the NDIS Act 2013 (Cth) and the associated Participant Rules. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the provision that an applicant must be under 65 years of age at the time of making their access request.

The Tribunal reasoned that the age requirement of being under 65 years at the time of the access request, as set out in sections 21 and 22 of the NDIS Act and Schedule A of the Participant Rules, was a mandatory and non-discretionary criterion. Mrs Higson confirmed she was 68 years old when she lodged her access request on 5 January 2021. Despite her submissions regarding the timing of her diagnosis, her lack of prior knowledge of the NDIS, and her personal circumstances following her husband's death, the Tribunal found no provision within the NDIS Act or Participant Rules that allowed for this age requirement to be disregarded. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mrs Higson's application had no reasonable prospect of success.

The application made by Mrs Deborah Higson was dismissed pursuant to paragraph 42B(1)(b) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) on the basis that it had no reasonable prospect of success.