Tootell and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application to the Tribunal for review of a decision made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) concerning the applicant, Mr Tootell. The dispute centred on whether the NDIA had conducted an internal review in accordance with section 100 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) before the matter was brought before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to review a decision that had not been the subject of a completed internal review process as mandated by the Act. Specifically, the court needed to ascertain if the actions taken by the NDIA constituted a reviewable decision under section 100(6) and if the subsequent application to the Tribunal was valid in the absence of such a review.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the jurisdictional requirements for applications to be made under section 103 of the Act. It was held that the Tribunal's jurisdiction is strictly limited to reviewing decisions that have undergone an internal review conducted by a reviewer under subsection 100(6). The chronological information provided indicated that while various decisions regarding Mr Tootell's plans and funding were made, and some internal reviews were initiated or considered, a formal internal review decision for the final plan (Plan 4) had not been recorded as being completed. Consequently, the Tribunal found it lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the review.

The application was dismissed on the basis that the Tribunal did not have jurisdiction to review a decision that had not been internally reviewed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act.