Steley and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by Steley (the Applicant) to review a decision made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) regarding the approval of the statement of participant supports in the Applicant's NDIS plan. The core of the dispute concerned whether the Tribunal had the jurisdiction to consider certain additional supports that had not been explicitly addressed in the NDIA's internal review decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine its own jurisdiction in reviewing the NDIA's decision. Specifically, the Tribunal had to ascertain whether it possessed the authority to consider and make a determination on the inclusion of additional supports, such as those related to a prosthetic eye and physiotherapy or exercise physiology sessions, when these had not been part of the NDIA's internal review process.

The Tribunal, applying the principles of administrative review, reasoned that it has the same powers and discretions as the original decision-maker. Therefore, it is required to re-make the decision to approve the statement of supports, taking into account the relevant obligations and limitations under the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth). The Tribunal concluded that the additional supports in question did not fall outside its jurisdiction.

Accordingly, the Tribunal determined that it had jurisdiction to consider whether funding for the Applicant's prosthetic eye and physiotherapy and/or exercise physiology sessions should be included within the Applicant's statement of participant supports.