The Applicant does not meet the disability requirements set down in section 24 of the Act, nor does he meet the early intervention requirements in section 25 of the Act. Therefore, the decision under review is correct and so is affirmed.

The Tribunal affirms the decision under review pursuant to subsection 105(a) of the .

[2] Under the transitional provisions in the Administrative Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Provisions No. 1) Act 2024 (the Transitional Act), applications for review to the AAT that were not finalised before 14 October 2024 are taken to be an application for review to the Tribunal. The Transitional Act gives the Tribunal the authority to continue and finalise any aspect of the review not already completed by the AAT.

[3] These are summarised at paragraph 8 of the Respondent's submissions dated 12 December 2024.

[4] Re Drake and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (No 2) (1979) 2 ALD 634 at [635].

[12] Summoned material from the Miller Clinic

[14] Summoned material from the Miller Clinic

[15] Summoned material from the Miller Clinic

[16] Respondent's Supplementary documents (RSD), 5 to 14 noting that the month at 5 is not clear, however, it is apparent that it occurred before July 2022, which is when the second session occurred.

[18] Summoned material from the Miller Clinic

[25] Respondent's Supplementary documents (RSTB), 3.

[34] Summoned material from the Miller Clinic

[46] JTB, A3 (noting that it is incorrectly tabbed as A33).

[50] National Disability Insurance Agency v Davis [2022] FCA 1002 (Davis), [86].

[56] Madelaine and National Disability Insurance Agency [2020] AATA 4025 (Madelaine) at [109].

[57] Timofticiuc and National Disability Insurance Agency [2021] AATA 3015 at [96].

[71] JTB, A3 (noting that it is incorrectly tabbed as A33).

[76] JTB, A3 (noting that it is incorrectly tabbed as A33).

Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Provisions No. [1) Act 2024

Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013

Disability Insurance Scheme (Becoming a Participant) Rules 2016

Review Tribunal Act 2024

Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. [1) Act 2024

DLQM and National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIS) [2025] ARTA 578 (14 May 2025)

National Disability Insurance Agency v Foster [2023] FCAFC 11

Mulligan v National Disability Insurance Agency [2015] FCA 544

National Disability Insurance Agency v Davis [2022] FCA 1002

Madelaine and National Disability Insurance Agency [2020] AATA 4025

Timofticiuc and National Disability Insurance Agency [2021] AATA 3015

Rooney and National Disability Insurance Agency [2021] AATA 3523

The Respondent contends that the Applicant does not have a substantially reduced functional capacity to undertake activities of self-care.
In his Statement of Lived Experience the Applicant reports that he can complete all personal care tasks but encounters significant challenges with physically demanding tasks in his home.[75]
On 25 June 2024 both Drs Ganda[76] and Taheri[77] reported that the Applicant has difficulties undertaking shopping tasks, cleaning, cooking and ironing. They recommended assistance with personal care and household tasks.
Ms Sales reported that the Applicant uses modified techniques to undertake shopping and domestic activities. However, she did observe that completing physically demanding cleaning tasks including vacuuming, mopping and bathroom cleaning cause him some trouble.[78] Ms Sale stated that to maximise the Applicant's safety and independence in the domain of self-care he should keep a selection of pre-prepared frozen meals for days he cannot manage the demands of preparing a meal, would benefit from commercial assistance for heavy household cleaning, and engagement with an occupational therapist for education in energy conservation as well as provision of aids and equipment to boost his independence.
I have already referred to the decision of Foster whereby it was determined that an inability to undertake only one task in a domain is not sufficient to give rise to a finding that an impairment results in substantially reduced functional capacity to undertake the relevant activity. Instead, an assessment must be made about what a person can and cannot do[79] and whether the person is unable to participate effectively or completely in the activity.[80]
I accept that the Applicant experiences difficulties in undertaking heavy household chores as consequence of Addison's disease. However, the Applicant is able to undertake most self-care tasks effectively or completely with modified techniques and some assistive technology and equipment. I am not persuaded that this gives rise to a finding that the Applicant has substantial reduced functional capacity in this domain. Such a conclusion is consistent with decisions made by this Tribunal (differently constituted) in the matters of MRLK and National Disability Insurance Agency [2021] AATA 3896 and Grant and National Disability Insurance Agency

National Disability Insurance Agency v Foster

At a glance

Court

Decision date

Source

Judgment (18 paragraphs)

Parties

Legislation Cited (5)

Cases Cited (8)

DLQM and National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIS) [2025] ARTA 578 (14 May 2025)