NDIS Independent Assessment rejected by AAT
You have spent the last week telling us about your concerns about the introduction of independent assessments.
Turns out you are not alone. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal shares them.
The AAT has just handed down a ruling which shattered the credibility of an independent assessment.
Mrs Ray applied for access to the NDIS. She had multiple reports from professionals collected over many years.
Her application was rejected. So the NDIA paid for an assessment by an Occupational Therapist who visited her home once and did an assessment over three hours.
The AAT found that the reports of her treating professionals were much more accurate and much more reliable than the single assessment paid for by the NDIS.
The case was run by Naomi Anderson from Villamanta Legal Service in Geelong.
“The NDIA’s current stance that treating health professionals are somehow biased in their reporting is disrespectful of the professional obligations of such individuals” said Ms Anderson.
“It is absurd to suggest that a stranger without appropriate qualifications can assess a person with complex disability in three hours and come to relevant and credible conclusions. We fear this will simply create a massive stream, of applications to the AAT, with thousands of distressed and unsupported people in its wake.”
Thank you
While we’re here, we wanted to say a really big thank you to the advocates all around the country helping people with disability every day with NDIS reviews and appeals.
All the different advocacy organisations and community legal services. We see you. We thank you.
And thank you in particular to Gippsland Disability Advocacy and Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service who in this case helped Mrs Ray rightfully access the NDIS and then told us all about it.
Read more
Ray v National Disability Insurance Agency – Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia
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