Ters and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between Ters and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The applicant, Ters, sought review of a decision made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NDIA. The core of the dispute concerned whether the CEO's action constituted a decision not to review a participant's plan or a decision to approve the statement of participant supports. Ters argued that the CEO's decision was one that should have been reviewable by the Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine the true characterisation of the CEO's decision. Specifically, it needed to ascertain whether the CEO's refusal to undertake a review of Ters's NDIS plan was a reviewable decision in itself, or if the relevant decision was the approval of the statement of participant supports, which Ters contended was flawed. The Tribunal had to consider the nature of the CEO's actions and the relevant provisions of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth) to make this determination.

The Tribunal reasoned that the CEO's action was a decision not to review the plan, rather than a decision to approve the statement of participant supports. It found that Ters had made an application to the CEO requesting a review of their plan, and the CEO had responded by declining to conduct such a review. The Tribunal concluded that this was not a decision that fell within the scope of reviewable decisions under the Act, and therefore, Ters's application to the Tribunal was misconceived. Consequently, the application was dismissed.