NDIS Appeals

NDIS Appeals Supports

NDIS Appeals has been set up to ensure that people with disability, and other people affected by reviewable decisions of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), have access to support when seeking review of those decisions in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

There are two types of supports available via NDIS Appeals:

  • access to a skilled disability advocate who acts as a support person, and
  • access to funding for legal services, where there is wider community benefit and/or disadvantage that would substantially benefit from legal representation.

Support persons are National Disability Advocacy Program (NDAP) disability advocates. They are available in every state and territory. An NDIS Appeals advocate can help by:

  • explaining the review process, including what is involved in appealing to the AAT;
  • helping to prepare documents;
  • providing advice and skills so you can better represent yourself, or
  • attending AAT conferences and hearings to help you put your case to the AAT.

While the focus of NDIS Appeals is advocacy support, funding for legal services is available where there is wider community benefit and/or disadvantage that would substantially benefit from legal representation. Legal services are provided by Legal Aid Commissions, which determine eligibility by assessing your application against publicly available criteria.

All NDIS Appeals supports are free of charge.

NDIS Appeals support is not available to service providers.

A pamphlet is available with more information on NDIS Appeals:

Accessing Support

Before accessing NDIS Appeals services you need to apply to the NDIA for an internal review. If you are unhappy with the outcome of the internal review you can apply to the AAT for an external review and access NDIS Appeal services.

An application for an AAT review must be made within 28 days of receiving the NDIA decision, though extensions can be granted by the AAT.

Finding a Provider

The Disability Advocacy Finder is an online tool to help you find NDIS Appeals providers and disability advocacy agencies across Australia.

You can also contact an NDIS Appeals provider through the following links:

ACT

NSW

NT

QLD

SA

TAS

VIC

WA

Applying for funding for legal services

Legal Aid Commissions in the relevant state or territory assess applications and determine whether there would be wider community benefit and/or disadvantage that would substantially benefit from legal representation and are eligible for funding for legal services. The following documents are needed to apply for funding for legal services:

Applications for funding of legal services need to be made by either email or post. This information can be found on the NDIS Appeals Application Form.

There is a 30 day processing period for assessments.

Program Information

NDIS Appeals is funded under the Department of Social Services’ Disability and Carers Support Activity. Information about the Disability and Carer Support Activity, including NDIS Appeals, is available through the Disability and Carer Support Guidelines. More specific information on NDIS Appeals is available in the Operational Guidelines.

Contact

The Department can be contacted about NDIS Appeals via:

Email:

disabilityadvocacy@dss.gov.au

Post:

Department of Social Services
Disability, Employment and Carers Group
PO Box 9820
Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2610

Last updated: