MDCT and National Disability Insurance Agency

The parties to this proceeding are MDCT, the Applicant, and the National Disability Insurance Agency, the Respondent. The dispute concerns the Applicant's review of a decision by the Respondent to approve a statement of supports in their participant plan, which did not include findings for various home and property modifications. The Applicant also sought a recusal of the Tribunal members constituted to hear the matter and a non-publication order in respect of an earlier interlocutory decision. The matter was before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the President and other constituted members of the Tribunal should be recused from hearing the application due to apprehended bias, stemming from prior associations and interlocutory decisions and comments. Secondly, the Tribunal had to consider an application for a confidentiality order, specifically a non-publication order under section 35 of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth), concerning an interlocutory decision made on 24 December 2020.

The Tribunal refused the application for recusal, finding no basis for apprehended bias. The Tribunal reasoned that the Applicant's claims regarding prior association and perceived bias from interlocutory decisions were not supported by evidence demonstrating a real or substantial risk of bias. Regarding the confidentiality order, the Applicant initially sought non-publication of the entire interlocutory decision but later modified this to de-identification of named persons. Both the Applicant and the Respondent sought the de-identification of named individuals. The Tribunal considered the basis for de-identification and ultimately made orders for the non-publication of the Applicant's name or any information tending to reveal their identity, and for the de-identification of other named persons in the proceeding until further order.