Stewart and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Stewart (the Applicant) for access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The Applicant sought to rely on hearing loss and Meniere's disease as impairments to meet the NDIS access criteria. The National Disability Insurance Agency (the Respondent) contended that the Applicant had not demonstrated a substantially reduced functional capacity in any of the specified domains.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Applicant had a disability attributable to an intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory, or physical impairment, whether that impairment was permanent, and whether it resulted in a substantially reduced functional capacity to undertake specific activities, namely communication, social interaction, learning, mobility, self-care, or self-management. The Tribunal also needed to consider if the Applicant's impairment affected her capacity for social or economic participation and if she was likely to require NDIS support for her lifetime.

The Tribunal found that the Applicant had a disability attributable to a sensory impairment arising from hearing loss and Meniere's disease, and that this impairment was permanent. Crucially, the Tribunal determined that the Applicant's hearing loss resulted in a substantially reduced functional capacity in the area of communication. While the Applicant's hearing loss did not meet the strict decibel threshold outlined in the NDIS Operational Guidelines, the Tribunal found that the Applicant's inability to effectively communicate in noisy environments, including her workplace, and the impact on her ability to perform her duties safely and engage socially, met the threshold for substantially reduced functional capacity. The Tribunal also found that the Applicant's impairment affected her capacity for social and economic participation and that she was likely to require NDIS support for her lifetime.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the previous decision and substituted a new decision finding that the Applicant met the access criteria under section 21 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth).