McLeod and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application to review a decision made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) that the applicant did not meet the access criteria to become a participant in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The applicant sought to become a participant on the basis of four diagnosed conditions: Post Phlebitis Syndrome (PPS), recurring cellulitis, chronic asthma, and obesity. The review was heard by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) on the papers, with a hearing dispensed with.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the disability requirements under section 24 of the NDIS Act or the early intervention requirements under section 25 of the NDIS Act. Specifically, the Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant’s chronic asthma constituted a disability within the meaning of subsection 24(1)(a) of the NDIS Act, which requires a disability to be attributable to one or more intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory, or physical impairments. The Tribunal also considered the meaning of 'permanent' in the context of subsection 24(1)(b) of the NDIS Act.

The Tribunal found that while the NDIA accepted the applicant met the requirements of subsection 24(1)(a) in respect of PPS, recurring cellulitis, and obesity, it did not accept this for chronic asthma. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's chronic asthma did not meet the impairment requirements of subsection 24(1)(a) because there was no causal link between the asthma and any of the specified impairments. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that the applicant did not meet the access criteria under section 21 of the NDIS Act.

As the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet the access criteria to become a participant in the NDIS, it affirmed the NDIA's decision under review pursuant to subsection 43(1)(a) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth).