Tribunal overturns NDIA?s refusal to fund assistance dog for autistic boy

A tribunal has overturned a decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency to refuse to fund an assistance dog for an eight-year-old autistic boy.

In the latest case where a family has been forced to take the agency to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) over an assistance dog, the tribunal this month ruled in favour of the boy and his mother, more than two years after they first requested the funding.

It comes amid a string of other cases in which NDIS participants have reported seeing their plans cut and with appeals to the AAT having increased by more than 300% this financial year, as revealed by Guardian Australia recently.

The boy, whose name was not published by the tribunal, is autistic, has generalised anxiety disorder and ADHD, with the anxiety a "prominent" feature of his life that "impairs his ability to spend time at different places in the community".

His mother also told the tribunal that her son often experienced "meltdowns" at home while his therapists gave evidence that much of their sessions were spent trying to calm him down.

Despite several of his treating professionals recommending an assistance dog given his love of animals and the success of equine therapy, the NDIA refused the funding request in August 2019, saying it was not "reasonable and necessary".

The dog, which was to be trained and provided by the Queensland not-for-profit Smart Pups, would have cost the agency $20,000.