Yesterday, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC appointed four new members to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to hear National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) matters.
The AAT has power to examine a wide range of decisions by DisabilityCare Australia, including who is able to participate in the NDIS and what types of support are provided to DisabilityCare participants.
The new members all have expertise and understanding of the needs of people with disability, their families and carers.
Appointed in four of the DisabilityCare Australia launch states, the members include:
- Professor Ronald McCallum AO in NSW (who is also Deputy Chair of the Vision Australia Board)
- Ms Lynne Coulson Barr in Victoria
- Ms Sandra Taglieri in Tasmania, and
- Mr Ian Thompson in South Australia.
“I congratulate all appointees and look forward to the contribution each will make to administrative justice in their new roles,” Mr Dreyfus said.
To further support the AAT’s role in providing independent review of decisions made by DisabilityCare Australia, 17 existing AAT members have also been assigned to hear NDIS matters.
Access to justice will also be improved, with the Australian Government announcing a waiver of application fees to the AAT for DisabilityCare participants and applicants.
“The fee waiver will remove a financial barrier for DisabilityCare participants and applicants who are seeking a review of administrative decisions made by DisabilityCare Australia,” Mr Dreyfus said.
The four new appointments and fee waiver build on the work already done to establish a specialised division within the AAT, and will streamline processes to cater to DisabilityCare participants and applicants.