The Justice and Equity Centre has represented Lee Eastham in a successful legal battle against the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), with the Federal Court firmly rejecting the Agency’s narrow approach to funding supports for people with multiple disabilities.
‘I reckon it’s absolutely brilliant that someone else can benefit from what I’ve done. Knowing that it’s going to help other people is a real relief. It’s not just me who needs it,’ says Lee.
The NDIA accepted Lee into the NDIS based on his vision and hearing disabilities but Lee also has physical impairments that create mobility issues. Because of his vision disability, Lee can’t drive a car – but he can safely drive a mobility scooter.
Lee lives in regional Victoria, where public transport is limited. So he needs the scooter for the 3km trip to town to go shopping and attend medical appointments, and to visit his son and grandkids. In early 2022, he asked for around $7,300 in NDIS funding for the scooter.
‘I was told it was a simple process from the medical person who did the scooter assessment. They said just add it to your plan. It was devastating when it was declined. Really confusing,’ says Lee.
‘It made life a lot tougher. I live on my own now and the scooter would make me a lot more independent. I wouldn’t have to rely on people to drive me around, which I hate doing.’
In declining Lee’s request, the NDIA argued he needed the scooter because of his mobility issues and not his vision impairment. Lee argued he needed the scooter because of a number of factors, including both these impairments, and the NDIS had to consider the full picture of his needs.
Lee fought the decision at the Administrative Review Tribunal and won. But the NDIA appealed and forced him to the Federal Court.
‘I was anxious, worrying about what’s going to happen. It feels like the NDIA tried to push me and push me to get me to drop it,’ says Lee.
The Court said NDIS laws must be interpreted ‘with commonsense’ and supports should be funded even if the need for them has multiple causes, provided one cause is the impairment(s) that gave the person access to the NDIS.
Mitchell Skipsey, Senior Solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre: ‘The Court agreed NDIS funding should not be withheld simply because supports help a participant with a need created by multiple impairments or other barriers. This win will force the National Disability Insurance Agency to change its approach to funding supports for NDIS participants who face intersecting challenges.
‘Lee’s case is not an isolated one. We know of many other participants who have been similarly refused supports the law says they’re entitled to.
‘The NDIA denied funding to Lee on the view that people with disability should be able to compartmentalise different aspects of their disability. The Federal Court’s judgment shows this view is wrong. The NDIS Act requires funding decisions to take a ‘whole of person’ approach when determining what supports are reasonable and necessary.
‘Lee was forced to challenge the NDIA at the Administrative Review Tribunal and then at the Federal Court – a long and exhausting legal process with hefty legal costs on both sides. It’s only fair the Court has ordered the NDIA to pay Lee’s legal costs, on top of funding the scooter.’
