Practitioners looking for help navigating the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) system now have a database to assist.
The NDIS Appeals Database, a project led by University of Queensland Law School students through its Pro Bono Centre, is now available for lawyers appealing decisions for people who have sought service or support through the NDIS.
Centre Director Professor Tamara Walsh said the NDIS was “a very difficult system to navigate” and “decisions are not always consistent or fair”.
“People with a disability and their carers have so many challenges in their lives. We want to make sure they have as much information available to them as possible if they decide to appeal against a decision,” she said.
“Anyone can search this public database to find information about other cases that have been appealed. This means people can look for similarities between their case and previous cases, and this can assist them, and their advocates, to make a clear and persuasive argument for more and better support.
“Access to justice for people with a disability and their carers is a key concern of our centre and we are so proud that our students can help support this work.”
Professor Walsh said the site was a searchable list of decisions made at the Administrative Review Tribunal.
“Lawyers appealing decisions about disability support for their clients need to know the outcome of similar appeals to prepare their case and their client,” she said.
“This website allows them to find the information they need much more efficiently.”
Project leader and fourth year law student Cleo Shave said the site collated publicly available information about the tribunal’s decisions on NDIS access and support.
“We enter the data on each NDIS appeal decision, including the applicant’s personal details, issues under consideration, the type of support requested and the outcome of the case,” Cleo said.
“Legal practitioners can use those inputs to filter their search to find similar cases when preparing and advising on NDIS appeals.
“Dozens of dedicated law students have worked on the database for the past several years, with the goal of benefitting people with disability.”
The project began as a spreadsheet, created and used internally by community legal centre Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion (QAI).
QAI Senior Solicitor Andrea de Smidt said the centre partnered with UQ to see if the data could be extended and made more accessible.
“Our clients might be seeking services or support like assistive technology, therapy or specialised accommodation,” Andrea said.
“Being able to quickly search cases with similar elements, compare jurisdictions and identify trends in how appeals are resolved improves efficiency and increases our capacity as a community legal centre.
“We’re thrilled to be able to now share this resource with our legal assistance colleagues nationwide.“
While law students collated and input data, the website was designed and built by Krisna Bou, a student in UQ’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Like the law students working on the database, his work was pro bono.
Professor Walsh said the project was one of several underway in UQ’s Pro Bono Centre.
“This sort of work is invaluable for students,” she said.
“They’re reading cases, learning about the administrative appeals process and engaging in tasks associated with being a lawyer.
“But they’re also making a very real contribution to a network of organisations that assist people with disabilities to get access to what they need on the NDIS.
“Working in the public interest for the benefit of community is an important aspect of legal practice and the centre aims to inspire students to carry that on into their professional careers.”
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