Whitington and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms Whitington against the National Disability Insurance Agency's decision to refuse her access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Agency had affirmed its original decision on 1 April 2022, finding that while Ms Whitington met the age and residence requirements, she did not satisfy the disability or early intervention requirements. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was therefore required to determine whether Ms Whitington met the criteria for access under either section 24 or section 25 of the *National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013* (Cth).

The Tribunal was tasked with assessing whether Ms Whitington met the disability requirements under section 24, which necessitate a permanent impairment resulting in substantially reduced functional capacity in key areas such as communication, social interaction, learning, mobility, self-care, and self-management, and affecting her capacity for social or economic participation, with a likely lifelong need for support. Alternatively, the Tribunal considered the early intervention requirements under section 25, which require a permanent impairment or developmental delay in a child, and satisfaction that early intervention supports are likely to benefit the person by reducing future support needs, mitigating or alleviating the impact of the impairment, preventing deterioration, improving functional capacity, or strengthening informal supports.

The Tribunal affirmed the Agency's decision, finding that Ms Whitington did not meet the requirements of section 24. Crucially, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the provision of early intervention supports for Ms Whitington was likely to reduce her future needs for support, as required by section 25(1)(b) of the Act. As this was a mandatory criterion, Ms Whitington failed to meet the early intervention requirements. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.