Re Ewin and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application by Mr Ewin for review of an internal review decision made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). Mr Ewin, who has incomplete paraplegia, sought funding for transport costs under his National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan, arguing that public transport was often unavailable, inaccessible, or impractical given his disability and the need to transport work-related items or recreational equipment. The NDIA contended that these transport costs constituted day-to-day living expenses and were not supports to be funded under the NDIS.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether its decision could extend beyond the specific NDIS plan that was the subject of the internal review, and whether it could make orders that would allow Mr Ewin to receive funding for approved supports into the future, and if so, for what duration. The Tribunal also had to consider the jurisdictional question of whether it had the power to make a decision that would cover the period of successive NDIS plans for Mr Ewin.

The Tribunal reasoned that its review function under the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) was to review the decision under review and substitute its own decision. It held that the scope of the review was limited to the decision under review, which related to a specific NDIS plan. However, the Tribunal also noted that it could make a decision that would have future effect, provided it was within the scope of the decision under review. The Tribunal considered that the NDIA’s approach to funding transport costs as day-to-day living expenses was a matter of policy and interpretation of the NDIS Act, rather than a jurisdictional limitation on the Tribunal’s power to review.

Ultimately, the Tribunal found that it was not able to make a decision that would extend coverage beyond the period of the specific NDIS plan under review. The Tribunal’s jurisdiction was confined to reviewing the decision relating to that particular plan, and it could not make orders that would bind the NDIA in relation to future plans.