Power and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) by Mr Geoff Bowser (the Applicant) seeking review of a decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to reject his application for access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The Applicant, who suffered an injury in 2003, applied for access in 2017. The NDIA's decision was based on the assessment that the Applicant was not substantially impaired in any of the designated functional areas and that early intervention supports were more appropriately funded through mainstream health services.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Applicant met the access criteria for the NDIS, specifically whether he had a "disability requirement" as defined by section 21(1) of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth). This required the Tribunal to determine if the Applicant had a permanent impairment that resulted in substantially reduced functional capacity and was likely to require lifetime support under the Scheme. The Tribunal also considered whether any early intervention supports were more appropriately funded by other services.

The Tribunal considered oral evidence from the Applicant and several experts, as well as extensive documentary material. The NDIA contended that while the Applicant experienced some impairment in mobility, self-care, and social interaction, this impairment was not substantial when considered as a whole, referencing case law such as *National Disability Insurance Agency v Foster* and *Nika and National Disability Insurance Agency*. The Tribunal found that the Applicant's impairments, while present, did not meet the threshold of "substantial impairment" across the relevant domains. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the Applicant did not meet the requirements of section 24(1)(c) of the NDIS Act, making it unnecessary to consider alternative support schemes under section 24(1)(e).

The Tribunal affirmed the NDIA's decision of 17 June 2019, determining that the Applicant did not meet the access criteria for the NDIS.