YVTM and National Disability Insurance Agency

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between YVTM, a participant in the National Disability Insurance Scheme with a severe psychosocial impairment, and the National Disability Insurance Agency. YVTM sought funding for a range of further supports, including a support worker, cannabidiol, dog care, ready-made meals, continence aids, low-cost assistive technology, short-term accommodation, home modifications, psychology, exercise physiology, art therapy, naturopathy, specialist support coordination, psychosocial recovery coaching, legal support, advocacy, and access to the complex support needs pathway, as well as self-management of their plan.

The Tribunal was required to determine which of the requested supports were reasonable and necessary under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) and whether YVTM's plan should be self-managed or plan-managed. The Tribunal also had to consider the reassessment date for YVTM's plan.

The Tribunal found that the Agency's decision to plan-manage YVTM's supports was correct. The Tribunal varied the internal review decision by ordering that YVTM's plan be reassessed in 12 months. It also ordered that 26 hours of psychology over six months, with funding for a progress report, be funded under the Scheme. All other supports in the existing statement of participant supports, excluding one-off items already purchased, were to be replicated pro-rata until the reassessment date. The management of the funding for supports and other aspects of the plan were to continue without change until the reassessment date.