Re SHGH and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant's plan. The applicant sought to alter the reviewable decision, specifically to increase funding for "Improved Daily Living" supports and to amend the date by which the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) was required to review the plan. The core of the dispute revolved around the Tribunal's jurisdiction to alter a decision when the participant's plan was due to expire before the review application could be determined.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether it retained jurisdiction to determine the application for review despite the impending expiry of the participant's plan, and how an agreement between the parties to alter the reviewable decision should be recorded in accordance with section 26(1)(b) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth). The Tribunal also considered the effect of section 37 of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth) on the continuation of a participant's plan.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 26(1)(b) of the AAT Act permits a decision to be altered otherwise than by the Tribunal on review, provided the parties and the Tribunal consent. In this instance, the parties agreed to alter the reviewable decision by increasing funding and amending the review date. The Tribunal granted its consent to these alterations on 1 March 2018. The Tribunal further clarified that a participant's plan remains in effect until it is replaced by a new plan or the participant ceases to be a participant, irrespective of whether a review date has passed. Therefore, the Tribunal retained jurisdiction to determine the application for review. The Tribunal's consent to the agreed alterations was recorded, allowing the parties to implement the agreed changes.