Mottley and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) considered an application by the Applicant for review of a decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency). The Agency's decision affirmed an earlier decision that the Applicant did not meet the access criteria for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Applicant sought review of this decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Applicant's impairments met the disability requirements stipulated in section 24 of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth). Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the Applicant's impairments were permanent or likely to be permanent, if they resulted in a substantially reduced functional capacity across specified domains, and if lifetime support from the NDIS would be required.

The Tribunal affirmed the Agency's decision, finding that the Applicant had not satisfied the permanence criteria under section 24(1)(b) of the Act. The delegate's original decision, which was affirmed by the internal review and subsequently by the Tribunal, was based on the lack of satisfaction that the impairments were, or were likely to be, permanent. The Tribunal's reasoning focused on this failure to meet the threshold of permanence, which is a prerequisite for accessing the Scheme.