Waites and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a review application brought by Mr Waites against the National Disability Insurance Agency. Mr Waites sought to challenge three separate decisions made by the Agency concerning compensation he received from a settlement agreement. The core of the dispute revolved around the Agency's right to recover funds from Mr Waites' National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan due to this compensation.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to review three specific decisions. The first decision concerned the Agency's issuance of a recovery notice on 16 September 2021, demanding a portion of Mr Waites' settlement sum. The second decision related to a letter dated 2 October 2023, advising Mr Waites of a calculated Compensation Reduction Amount (CRA) that could be deducted from his NDIS plan over many years. The third decision, contained in a letter of 23 January 2024, indicated the Agency's determination that no special circumstances existed to alter its CRA estimate. A key legal issue was whether the Agency's failure to conduct internal reviews of Mr Waites' requests for review within the prescribed timeframes resulted in "deemed" reviewable decisions.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the jurisdictional requirements for review. Regarding the first decision, the Tribunal found that while Mr Waites had standing to seek review of the recovery notice, his request for an internal review was made outside the 3-month time limit stipulated by section 100(2) of the NDIS Act. The Tribunal noted that this section provides no discretion to extend the timeframe. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded it lacked jurisdiction to review the first decision.