Labor slashes NDIS cases in dispute by half

Labor has slashed the number of Australians on the NDIS waiting on the outcomes of cases challenging funding decisions by almost half in five months.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Minister Bill Shorten. Picture: Liam Kidston

Labor has slashed the number of Australians on the NDIS waiting on the outcomes of cases challenging funding decisions by almost half, with 2000 people having their cases to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal resolved in the past five months.

Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill Shorten revealed progress made in “blitzing” AAT legacy cases, which had climbed to 4500 before Labor was elected, and said lengthy litigation between NDIS participants and the government was “unproductive and costly”.

“Under the previous government, NDIS participants were being sent to court to fight top-tier law firms for their basic NDIS supports,” he told The Australian. “Some of the stories were tragic – involving participants and families forced into court over lifesaving equipment and supports.”

“These legacy cases were the antithesis of what the NDIS was created for – providing people with permanent and significant disabilities with the supports to live the life they choose.”

The AAT revealed in June that cases lodged by NDIS participants had surged by more than 240 per cent in the March quarter, compared with the same period last year, which resulted in $40m in legal fees over the first 10 months of the 2021-22 financial year.

Mr Shorten’s slashing of outstanding cases before the AAT is part of a broader overhaul of the NDIS appeals process, which includes an independent Expert Review Pathway program that will provide an “alternative dispute resolution mechanism” for participants.

The NDIA is also working to reduce the flow of new AAT ­applications.