Rodrigues and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application by Ms Rodrigues to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Tribunal for review of a decision concerning her plan. The dispute arose because the Tribunal questioned whether it had jurisdiction to review the decision regarding Ms Rodrigues' plan, as there had been no internal review conducted by the NDIA.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed the jurisdiction to review a decision concerning a participant's plan under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) when no internal review had been undertaken. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the decision regarding Ms Rodrigues' plan constituted a "reviewable decision" within the meaning of the Act that could be brought before it.

The Tribunal reasoned that its power to review decisions of the NDIA is limited to decisions made by a reviewer under section 100(6) of the Act, which follows an internal review process. While section 99 lists various decisions that are reviewable, including the approval of a statement of supports in a plan, the Act requires an internal review under section 100(2) before a person can seek review by the Tribunal. The Tribunal noted that the process leading to the approval of Ms Rodrigues' third plan was unclear, but crucially, there had been no decision by a reviewer under section 100(6) for the Tribunal to review.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to review the decision concerning Ms Rodrigues' plan because the prerequisite of an internal review had not been met.