The Federal Court has made an “extremely significant” ruling by ordering the agency that runs the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to fund a participant’s mobility scooter.
Experts say the decision could expand the number and types of supports available to people with multiple disabilities.
Lee Eastham, who is hearing and vision-impaired, lives with several medical conditions that severely limit his mobility.
In 2022, he requested the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) fund a $7,300 scooter so he could travel independently into town to do his shopping, go to health appointments and volunteer with the SES.
Mr Eastham, who lives in regional Victoria, said he could not drive or safely walk into town because of his conditions, and due to a lack of services on weekends and public holidays, could not rely on buses either.
The NDIA said his need for a scooter resulted from his physical conditions, not the hearing and vision impairments for which he was originally granted access to the NDIS.
…
The Justice and Equity Centre, which represented Mr Eastman, said the Federal Court had clarified the NDIA must view participants according to the interplay of their multiple conditions — not just those that gave them entry into the scheme — as well as other environmental factors, such as transport available where they live.
“The really important thing that this case has said is that a person’s whole life is important,” senior solicitor Mitchell Skipsey said.
“Somebody isn’t just a bundle of disabilities or diagnoses, but instead a whole person and that whole person is what the NDIS needs to be taking into account when it looks at what their needs are.”
