Jemison-Budd and National Disability Insurance Agency

The applicant, Jemison-Budd, sought review of a decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to refuse her access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The dispute concerned whether her impairments, specifically Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis and Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease, met the criteria for access under the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth). The matter was heard by Deputy President B W Rayment Oam Qc.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant's impairments were permanent, and if so, whether they resulted in a "substantially reduced functional capacity" to undertake any one or more of the specified activities listed in the legislation. The Tribunal was required to assess the evidence regarding the nature and impact of these conditions on the applicant's ability to perform everyday tasks.

Deputy President Rayment reasoned that the evidence presented demonstrated that the applicant's impairments were permanent. Crucially, the Tribunal found that these permanent impairments resulted in a substantially reduced functional capacity across multiple specified activities, including communication, social interaction, and self-care. The Tribunal applied the principles of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth), focusing on the objective assessment of functional capacity rather than solely on the diagnosis of the impairments.

The Tribunal set aside the NDIA's decision and substituted it with a decision that the applicant met the access criteria under section 21 of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth).