How to review a Planning Decision

So you’ve just received your new NDIS Plan and the funding is nowhere near what is was last time, or your completely new to the NDIS, and you don’t believe your NDIS Plan reflects the supports you require to live your life independently or achieve the goals you set out to.

Well, did you know you can submit an official Review of a Planning Decision with the NDIS? This process offers you the opportunity to ensure that your NDIS plan management options align with your needs and goals, giving you the chance to access appropriate disability support services.

As stated by the NDIS – If you think a NDIA decision is wrong, you can request an internal review of a decision. Any person directly affected by an NDIA decision can request an internal review.

What Decisions can be reviewed?

There is a list of ‘reviewable decisions’ in the NDIS legislation. If the NDIA makes a decision about you on this list, you can request an internal review of that decision. Many decisions the NDIA makes are reviewable, including things like being accepted as a participant, the provision of reasonable and necessary supports and becoming a registered provider of supports.

Who can request an internal review?

A person who is directly affected by a reviewable decision may request that the decision be reviewed by the NDIA (section 100(2)).

The person or persons who are directly affected by a reviewable decision will vary depending on the type of decision which has been made by the NDIA.

Persons who may be directly affected by a decision include:

• a prospective participant;
• a participant (including participants who are children);
• one or more persons with parental responsibility for a child;
• a child’s representative, or a person seeking to a be a child’s representative;
• a child’s guardian;
• a plan or correspondence nominee, or a person appointed, or seeking to be appointed as a plan or correspondence nominee;
• a registered provider of supports, or a person or organisation who applies to be a registered provider of supports; or
• a person who owes a debt to the NDIA.

Whether a person requesting a review is directly affected by a reviewable decision is a question of fact to be determined in the individual circumstances of each case.

What is the time limit for requesting an internal review?

A person must make a request for an internal review within 3 months of receiving written notice of a reviewable decision from the NDIA (section 100(2)).

If a request for internal review is made more than 3 months after a person receives written notice of a reviewable decision, the decision cannot be reviewed.

However, a person who does not make a request for internal review in time, can consider making a new request or application under the NDIS Act.

For example, a prospective participant who is no longer able to request an internal review of the decision to refuse their access request because more than 3 months has elapsed could simply make a new access request instead.

How do I submit a review?

When you are notified about an NDIA decision, you will get information about how to request an internal review. A request for internal review of a decision must be made within three months of you receiving the NDIA’s notice of the decision.

The staff member who works on the internal review will not have been involved in the earlier decision. They may want to talk to you directly as part of the process.

You can make a request for internal review of a decision by:

submitting a written request to:

Chief Executive Officer
Disability Insurance Agency
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601

or talking to someone at an NDIA office:

calling 1800 800 110
sending an email to: [email protected]

When you ask for a review, explain why you think the decision is not right.

Click here to be taken to the NDIS Revisions Page where you can download the NDIS’s Application for a Review of Decision Template. https://www.ndis.gov.au/applying-access-ndis/how-apply/receiving-your-access-decision/internal-review-decision

You don’t have to use this form but it can help you describe why you want an internal review of the decision.

What happens next?

The NDIA staff member responsible for the internal review will make a decision, as soon as reasonably practical, to confirm, vary or set aside and substitute the earlier decision.

What if you are still not happy after the internal review of the decision?

If you are still not happy after the internal review of the decision, you can apply for a Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) review. This is a tribunal outside the NDIA.

You cannot ask the AAT to review an NDIA decision until the NDIA has internally reviewed it.

For information about applying for an AAT review, see the AAT website: AAT: National Disability Insurance Scheme applicants (new window) or call 1800 228 333.

What if I have concerns about the decision-making process?

If you are not satisfied with the way the NDIA carried out its decision-making, or how the NDIA dealt with you during the review process, you can make a complaint.

Maple Community Services NDIS Plan Assistance

If you have any questions around what is a NDIS Plan, or would purely like to chat to a Maple Community Services representative around the role we play in assisting you with your NDIS Plan Needs, please get in touch with us today.