SDCY and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between SDCY (the applicant) and the National Disability Insurance Agency (the respondent) concerning the inclusion of certain identified supports in the applicant's statement of participant supports under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the identified supports, specifically those relating to the applicant's need for assistance with personal care and domestic tasks, were reasonable and necessary supports for the applicant, as defined by section 34 of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth). This required the Tribunal to assess whether the supports were related to the applicant's disability, likely to be effective, represent value for money, and would be most appropriately funded or provided through the National Disability Insurance Scheme rather than other general systems of service provision.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's disability significantly impacted their capacity to perform personal care and domestic tasks independently. It found that the identified supports were directly related to addressing these functional limitations and were therefore reasonable and necessary. The Tribunal applied the principles outlined in section 34 of the Act, considering the evidence presented regarding the applicant's needs and the potential effectiveness of the proposed supports. The Tribunal concluded that the supports were not more appropriately funded by other services and represented value for money in the context of the applicant's overall support needs.

The Tribunal varied the decision under review by including the identified supports in the applicant's statement of participant supports.