Pettit and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application by Mr Pettit for funding under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for twice-weekly private tutoring in literacy and numeracy. The dispute centred on whether this tutoring constituted a "reasonable and necessary support" as defined by the NDIS Act. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine if the requested support met the criteria for funding under the NDIS.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the private tutoring in literacy and numeracy was a reasonable and necessary support for Mr Pettit, having regard to the specific provisions of the NDIS Act and the relevant Operational Guidelines. This involved considering whether the support was most appropriately funded by the NDIS or through other general systems of service delivery. The Tribunal had to assess if all the cumulative requirements for a reasonable and necessary support were satisfied.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the NDIS Operational Guidelines concerning school education. These guidelines stipulate that the NDIS is responsible for supports associated with the functional impact of a disability on daily living, but not for supports primarily relating to educational attainment. Appendix 1 of the Operational Guidelines explicitly categorised "teaching and learning assistance, including teachers assistants and tutors" as supports generally funded by other parties, rather than the NDIS. Applying this principle, the Tribunal found that the requested tutoring, aimed at improving literacy and numeracy, fell within the scope of educational attainment and was therefore not a support that the NDIS was required to fund.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review. Mr Pettit's application for funding of the private tutoring was unsuccessful because the support did not meet the criterion of being most appropriately funded by the NDIS, as required by subsection 34(1)(f) of the NDIS Act.