Powell and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application to review a decision made by a reviewer of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The reviewer had affirmed a delegate's decision 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 based on physical impairments arising from a post-poliomyelitis syndrome (PPS) diagnosis.

The court was required to determine whether the applicant met the disability requirements under section 24 of the NDIS Act 2013 (Cth) or the early intervention requirements under section 25 of the Act. Specifically, the court considered whether the applicant's physical impairments resulted in a substantially reduced functional capacity to undertake activities related to communication, social interaction, learning, mobility, self-care, and self-management, and whether these impairments affected his capacity for social or economic participation, and if he was likely to require NDIS support for his lifetime. Alternatively, the court examined whether early intervention supports would likely benefit the applicant by reducing future needs and whether such supports were not most appropriately funded or provided through the NDIS.

The court noted that the NDIS Act is supplemented by Operational Guidelines, including Access Guidelines, which provide guidance for decision-makers. The applicant, aged 66, lives with his partner and daughters, who provide informal support. He was diagnosed with polio as a child, leading to PPS primarily affecting his right upper limb, with recent degenerative changes to his hip and spine attributed to the long-standing biomechanical effects of PPS. The applicant sought NDIS participation to fund physiotherapy and other allied health therapies to maintain his mobility and slow the reduction in his functional capacity for daily activities.

The decision under review was affirmed.