ZWXT and National Disability Insurance Agency

This matter concerned an application by ZWXT, a child participant in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), through his father, for the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to issue summonses for four staff members of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to give evidence. The dispute centred on whether the evidence sought from these NDIA staff members was likely to shed light on the issues before the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it should exercise its discretion under section 40A(2) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) to refuse the requests for summonses. This required the Tribunal to consider the relevance of the proposed evidence to the substantive proceeding, the objectives of the AAT Act, including accessibility, fairness, and expedition, and the potential imposition on the individuals summoned. The Tribunal also had to consider the nature of its own review function, which is a merits review.

The Tribunal reasoned that its task was to conduct a merits review, meaning it would determine for itself the correct or preferable decision regarding ZWXT's NDIS plan, irrespective of the NDIA's past decisions or views. The Tribunal concluded that the evidence from the requested NDIA staff members, including case managers, planners, and delegates who made the original and internal review decisions, could not reasonably be expected to illuminate the core issue of what type and level of supports should be included in ZWXT's plan. The Tribunal noted that the NDIA's previous decision-making processes were historical and would not influence its own independent assessment.

Consequently, the Tribunal exercised its discretion under section 40A(2) of the AAT Act to refuse the requests to summon the four named NDIA staff members. The Tribunal also indicated that if the father sought specific documents, he should make a direct request to the NDIA, and the Tribunal remained open to addressing any outstanding document requests at the commencement of the substantive hearing.