Last and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application by Ms Last for review of a decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to refuse her access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The NDIA had determined that Ms Last did not meet the access criteria under section 21 of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth) (NDIS Act), specifically the "disability requirements" under section 24, as her impairments were not considered permanent or likely to be permanent, nor did they result in a substantially reduced functional capacity in prescribed activities.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether Ms Last met the disability requirements for NDIS access. This involved assessing whether her numerous physical, sensory, cognitive, and psychosocial impairments, including bipolar affective disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, fibromyalgia, degenerative shoulder conditions, a lower back condition, chronic pain, and a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection, were permanent or likely to be permanent. Furthermore, the Tribunal had to consider whether these impairments resulted in a substantially reduced functional capacity in any of the six prescribed activities outlined in section 24(1)(c) of the NDIS Act.

The Tribunal considered extensive evidence, including medical reports and witness testimony. It found that Ms Last's impairments, arising from a combination of pre-existing conditions and injuries sustained in a 2008 car accident, were indeed permanent or likely to be permanent. The Tribunal was satisfied that these impairments collectively resulted in a substantially reduced functional capacity across various domains, thereby meeting the criteria under sections 22, 23, and 24 of the NDIS Act. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the NDIA's decision and substituted it with a decision that Ms Last met the access criteria and was to be granted access as a participant in the NDIS.