Rights
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If the NDIA has declined a participant’s access request (or revoked a person’s participant status), or if they have declined to fund supports in the plan, this is considered a reviewable decision.
If a participant does not agree with the decision about the supports the NDIS will fund, they can seek an internal review of this decision, where a different employee of the NDIA will reconsider the decision. If they do not agree with the outcome of the internal review, they can request the Administrative Review Tribunal (formerly the Administrative Appeals Tribunal) conduct an external review (or appeal) of the decision.
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Concerns about the the National Disability Insurance Agency
If a person is not happy with the outcome of the internal complaint, they can ask someone at the NDIA to review the handling of the complaint. The person also has the right to contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman, who can hear complaints about Australian Government agencies such as the NDIA.
Concerns about a service provider
If a person is not happy with a NDIS service provider, they can contact the NDIS Commission (see ‘Contacts’, below). The NDIS Commission can take complaints about:
NDIS services or supports that were not provided in a safe and respectful way;
NDIS services and supports that were not delivered to an appropriate standard; and
how an NDIS provider has managed a complaint about services or supports provided to an NDIS participant.
Victorian Disability Worker Commission
The Victorian Disability Worker Commission can receive ‘any enquiry, complaint or notification about any disability worker in Victoria, regardless of the way in which the service is funded.’ See ‘Contacts’, below.
Anyone can make a complaint about a disability worker, including about:
their standard of work;
their knowledge, skill or judgement;
their capacity to provide services safely; or
an alleged breach of the Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018 (Vic) or the Disability Service Safeguards Code of Conduct.
Rights
Chapter: 8.2 Understanding the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Contributor: Naomi Anderson, Legal Practice Manager, Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service, and Marcus Boere, Lawyer, Victoria Legal Aid; Elise Almond, Senior Lawyer, Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service; John Morrissey, Professional Support Lawyer, Victoria Legal Aid
Current as of: 3 October 2024
Law Handbook Page: 717
Next Section: Interactions with other laws
