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National Disability Insurance Scheme Appeals

Legal assistance service

The Department of Social Services has made funding (scheme legal funds) available for people living with disability to apply for free legal advice through an AAT Outreach Legal Advice service and assistance about their participation in the NDIS.

Legal assistance is provided by lawyers in the Administrative Law Group of the Legal Services Commission of South Australia (Commission lawyers).

The legal assistance is intended for NDIS applicants who are in dispute with the National Disability Insurance Agency (Agency) where the issues involved are significant enough to warrant the involvement of experienced lawyers.

A dispute may be about a person’s eligibility to start receiving a benefit under the NDIS, or it may concern an Agency decision which has adversely affected an existing NDIS plan or benefit.

These disputes are determined in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

The process for applying for legal assistance is set out below.

Application process

Before applying for legal assistance, you must first have had an outreach advice appointment. For a referral to the outreach legal advice service contact the AAT on (08) 8128 8000 to request one.

At the appointment, a Commission lawyer will explore the nature of the dispute with you and whether an application for continuing legal assistance with your appeal would be worthwhile.

To engage with the legal assistance service you will be required to complete and sign an Application for NDIS Appeals Legal Services (Word, 836 KB) and provide all the requested documents. For easy completion, we recommend downloading the application and completing in Word. 

In particular, it will be necessary to provide a copy of the T-Documents with your application.  (T-Documents are “Tribunal Documents” prepared by the Agency, and usually filed within 28 days of the appeal application being lodged).

Applications may be submitted by:

or

  • post to GPO Box 1718, Adelaide SA 5001

Assessment

Assessment of applications includes the following considerations:

  • Has an Appeal been appropriately lodged with the AAT, within jurisdiction, against a decision of the NDIA?
  • Do the matters in dispute raise complex or novel legal issues?
  • Is the provision of legal representation likely to lead to a wider community benefit?
  • Are there are sufficient scheme legal funds to cover the legal costs of the application?
  • Do the Commission lawyers, currently have the capacity to assist?
  • Is the applicant experiencing disadvantage in the Appeal process and  likely to realise a substantial benefit from legal representation? and
  • Does the application have substantial merit?

Decision

Where possible, applications for legal assistance under the National Disability Scheme will be determined within 30 days of receipt of the application and the supporting documents.

When approved, applications may be funded to certain stages of AAT proceedings, with regular reviews.

Refusals

Applicants who are unsuccessful in their application for funding may request a reconsideration of the decision but must do so in writing and within 14 days of the decision.

Applications for reconsideration will be assessed by a Commission officer who was not involved in the original decision.

Where possible reconsiderations are determined within 30 days of a written request.