Snoxell and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application by Mrs Snoxell, represented by her husband, seeking funding from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) for a lift to be installed in their double-storey home. Mrs Snoxell has mobility issues, and the dispute centred on whether the NDIA should fund this modification as a reasonable and necessary support under the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The decision was made by Dr Stewart Fenwick, Senior Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether the proposed funding for a lift constituted a "reasonable and necessary support" for Mrs Snoxell, consistent with the requirements of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) and the associated Support for Participant Rules and operational Guidelines. This involved assessing whether the lift met the criteria for reasonable and necessary supports, including considerations of cost-effectiveness, availability of alternative supports, and the participant's long-term needs and circumstances.

The Tribunal considered various factors in its assessment, including the NDIA's general guideline that lifts are typically not funded for access to multiple levels of a home, but that exceptions may be made based on specific circumstances. These circumstances include the feasibility of reorganising the house, the availability and cost of more accessible alternative accommodation, compelling factors making relocation unrealistic, and the long-term cost-benefit analysis of the proposed modification against alternative supports. The Tribunal also referred to previous decisions involving lift funding requests, highlighting that such decisions are highly individualised and fact-intensive. The Tribunal found that there was at least one obvious and feasible alternative to the requested lift that was more cost-effective, leading to the conclusion that the NDIA's decision not to fund the lift was correct.

The Tribunal affirmed the NDIA's decision not to fund the lift.