Way and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between the applicant, Mr Way, and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The applicant, who has an acquired brain injury, sought funding for further outings as a reasonable and necessary support under the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The NDIA had previously decided not to fund these additional outings, a decision the applicant sought to have reviewed.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the proposed further outings constituted a reasonable and necessary support for the applicant, having regard to the objects and principles of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth). This involved assessing whether the supports were related to the applicant's disability, whether they represented value for money, and whether they were most appropriately funded by the NDIS.

Professor R McCallum AO, Member, reasoned that while the applicant's existing supports were designed to address his disability-related needs, the proposed additional outings did not meet the threshold for reasonable and necessary supports. The Tribunal noted that the applicant already had significant funding allocated to his plan, and that the proposed outings were not directly linked to achieving his stated goals in a way that justified the additional expense. The principle applied was that supports must be directly related to the participant's disability and represent value for money, considering informal supports and other services available.

The Tribunal affirmed the NDIA's decision, finding that the further funding for outings was not a reasonable and necessary support under the NDIS.