The NDIS Appeals service assists all people who are unhappy with a decision the NDIS have made, not just those with an ABI, across South Australia and the Barkly region of the Northern Territory.
We can assist people in challenging any reviewable decision made by the NDIA, three of which include: being refused access to the scheme, not receiving enough money for supports in their NDIS Plan, and revocations of access.
Nationally, the volume of cases going to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘AAT’) is lower than last financial year, however, the demand on appeals to the AAT remains high and matters are taking longer to be finalised.
During this period, our NDIS Appeals team supported 53 new clients and 43 existing clients to appeal their decision.
Due to the high demand on our service for AAT appeals we have not been able to pick up Internal Reviews in South Australia, however, we have still assisted with Internal Reviews in the Barkly Region.
The interface between mainstream supports, such as Health and Education and the NDIS, continues to complicate matters. We are noticing an upward trend in matters relating to accommodation and ratio of supports for both Supported Independent Living and Community Access. AAT matters are taking upwards of 6 months to resolve, and copious amounts of additional evidence sought. Due to this demand, the Appeals service continued to offer fortnightly Information Sessions held online to assist people we cannot support to navigate the process with some advice.
Brain Injury SA’s Appeals Officers have assisted in a number of complex and novel cases, including supporting in successful matters relating to unique pieces of assistive technology, supported accommodation and access to the NDIS.
NDIS Appeals Support in the Barkly Region of Northern Territory
In the last year, the Appeals team supported 6 clients seeking reviews in the Barkly Region of Northern Territory, relating to decisions regarding access to the NDIS and plan funding.
This included one external merits review which was recently resolved by consent. As a result of the review, the Applicant’s family and guardians were pleased to receive 24/7 daily living support including 2:1 for 3 hours a day and active overnight support, in addition to 12 hours specialist behaviour intervention, 12 hours of occupational therapy and assessment and 5 hours of specialist support coordination. This outcome meant the participant, a young Indigenous man living with cerebral palsy, was able to remain living independently in his home with continuous support.
The Appeals team also conducted a community consultation in Tennant Creek, NT, engaging with 17 local organisations and Government Departments. The aim of the consultation was to raise awareness of the Appeals program and understand the current barriers to requesting reviews and seeking assistance with doing so. We were pleased to strengthen our referral pathways through re-engaging with local services.
Independent Expert Review
Brain Injury SA’s Appeals service was invited to support participants through the NDIA Independent Expert Review Process.
This new pathway for participants ran from 1 January 2023 – 30 June 2023. Despite high interest in the program the criteria to be accepted remained narrow throughout. Brain Injury SA supported three clients with this process, none of which resolved prior to the 30 June 2023. The Independent Experts in each of the matters recommended far higher supports than the NDIA had offered. None of the matters resolved through this process, as the NDIA did not make offers which corresponded with the Independent Expert Recommendations.
