What to do if your SDA request is rejected
By The Find My SDA Team · Reviewed by Bhav Singh, Licensed Estate Agent · Published 01 Oct 2026
Short answer
Read the NDIA's written reasons, then ask for an internal review within 3 months of getting the decision. You can ask in writing, by phone or online, and send new evidence that answers those reasons. If you still disagree, you have 28 days to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal, and there's no fee.
A refusal letter from the NDIA isn't the final word. The NDIA has to give you its reasons in writing, and the decision about what goes in your plan, SDA included, can be reviewed. This guide follows the order things happen after a refusal. If you haven't asked for SDA yet, start with how to apply for SDA instead.
Start with the reasons in the letter
Section 100 of the NDIS Act says the NDIA must give you written notice of a reviewable decision and its reasons. The notice must also tell you that you can ask for a review. Read the reasons slowly. Your review request is strongest when it answers them one at a time.
The decision to approve your plan, including the supports funded in it, is reviewable. So are decisions not to reassess or vary your plan. Under the SDA Rules, your SDA design category is set out in your plan, so a plan with no SDA, or with a different design category from the one you asked for, sits inside a decision you can ask to have reviewed.
Not sure the letter says what you think it says? You can ask the NDIA to explain its decision before you ask for a review.
Ask for an internal review within 3 months
You must ask within 3 months of receiving the decision. Write the deadline down the day the letter arrives.
There's no single required form. The NDIS Act allows a written request or an oral one, in person or by phone. You can call the NDIA on 1800 800 110 or send an enquiry with your evidence through the service hub. Letters go to the Chief Executive Officer, NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601. You can also visit a local office, or use the NDIA's request for a review of a decision form.
A family member, friend, advocate or support coordinator can help you ask. The NDIA needs to know that person has your permission. The review itself must be done by someone who wasn't involved in the original decision.
What to put in your request
The NDIA asks you to say what decision you were expecting and why you think it should decide differently. Tell them if there's information you've already given that you want looked at again, and whether you'll be sending new evidence.
For home and living supports, the NDIA says evidence should be recent and come from a relevant treating health professional, such as an occupational therapist. It should explain your daily support and housing needs, including how often you need support. It should also cover what other home and living options you've looked at and why they don't meet your disability-related needs. Our guide to SDA eligibility explains the tests that evidence has to speak to.
If the NDIA needs more documents during the review, it will tell you what it needs and why. You have up to 28 days to send them, and you can contact the NDIA to ask for more time.
How long the internal review takes
The NDIA aims to finish internal reviews within 60 days, counted from the day after it receives your request. If that isn't possible, it says it will contact you to explain why it needs more time. It will also tell you when it expects to decide. Other NDIA timeframes are in our guide on how long SDA approval takes.
You can ask for the review to be done sooner. The NDIA's guidelines list situations where it may do this, including a risk of harm to your health or wellbeing, being at risk of homelessness or living in unstable accommodation, care arrangements that are at risk, and waiting in hospital for discharge. Say so when you ask for the review. The NDIA says it will contact you within 48 hours to talk about your situation.
Your plan while you wait
Asking for a review doesn't stop the decision from operating. You can keep using the supports in your current plan while the review is under way.
If the NDIA changes the supports in your plan, or a new plan starts, before your review is decided, the NDIS Act treats your request as also covering that new decision. You don't have to start again.
If your support needs change a lot in the meantime, you can ask for a plan reassessment. That needs the NDIA's plan reassessment request form and recent evidence of a significant, ongoing change, which usually means evidence from within 4 months of your request and dated after your current plan was approved. Only you, your plan nominee or your child representative can make that request.
Taking it to the Tribunal
If you still disagree after the internal review, you can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The ART started on 14 October 2024, replacing the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and it is separate from the NDIA.
You have 28 days from receiving the internal review decision to apply. There's no application fee to ask the Tribunal to review an NDIA decision.
Missed the 28 days? You can ask the Tribunal in writing for more time and explain why you're late. The Tribunal sends your request to the NDIA, which has 14 days to say whether it objects, and the Tribunal then decides.
Usually the internal review has to be finished first. The Tribunal says that if the NDIA hasn't completed its internal review within 90 days of your request (or another period set for that decision), it may be able to review the decision without waiting. Send a copy of your internal review request with your application.
You can't use NDIS funding to pay someone to represent you at the Tribunal, such as a lawyer or support coordinator. You can use it for disability-related supports you need during hearings, like personal care or communication support.
Free help with a Tribunal appeal
The Australian Government funds the NDIS Appeals Program for people taking an NDIA decision to the Tribunal, and it's free. It can connect you with a skilled disability advocate who acts as your support person. Legal representation may also be funded where there's likely to be a wider community benefit, or where a person experiencing disadvantage would substantially benefit from it.
You can use the program once the NDIA has finished your internal review. In South Australia, the Government's provider list names Advocacy for Disability Access and Inclusion, Brain Injury SA, the Disability Advocacy and Complaints Service of South Australia, and the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council. Applications for legal services funding go to the Legal Services Commission of South Australia.
A review is not a complaint
A review asks for the decision to be changed. A complaint is about how something was handled. If your concern is the NDIA itself, such as how staff dealt with you, you can complain to the NDIA by phone on 1800 800 110. You can also complain in person or by mail. It aims to acknowledge a complaint within 1 day and resolve it within 21 days. If you're unhappy with the outcome, you can ask a supervisor or manager to look at it, or contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Concerns about an NDIS provider or worker, such as supports that weren't delivered safely or to an appropriate standard, go to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission on 1800 035 544. If what you want is SDA in your plan, the NDIA's own complaints page points you to a review, so keep the 3 month deadline running alongside any complaint.
Common questions
What if more than 3 months have passed?
The NDIS Act requires an internal review request within 3 months of receiving the decision. Contact the NDIA and ask what other options you have. If your needs have changed in a significant and ongoing way, one option is a plan reassessment request with recent evidence.
Is a review the same as asking for SDA again?
No. A review looks again at a decision the NDIA has already made, and you can add new evidence. A plan reassessment is a separate request. It needs the NDIA's form and recent evidence of a significant, ongoing change in your support needs.
Do I need a lawyer?
No. You can ask for an internal review yourself or with help from someone you trust. At the Tribunal, the NDIS Appeals Program can connect you with a free disability advocate, and you can also bring a family member or friend as a support person.
Can I ask for my SDA design category to be reviewed?
Yes. The design category is specified in your plan, and the decision to approve the supports in your plan is reviewable. Send evidence that shows why the category you asked for matches your needs.
Does the Tribunal replace the internal review?
No. You normally need the internal review decision before you apply. The exception is when the NDIA hasn't finished the internal review within 90 days of your request, or another period set for that decision. The Tribunal may then be able to review it without waiting.
Sources
We check the facts in this guide against these official sources before it goes live.
- NDIS Act 2013 (compilation No. 26, 27 Aug 2026)
- NDIS: How to request a review of a decision
- NDIS (Specialist Disability Accommodation) Rules 2020, s15 and s19
- NDIS: What is a decision review
- NDIS: Guide to decision reviews
- NDIS: How to ask for home and living supports
- NDIS Our Guidelines: How long will your internal review take?
- NDIS: What is a plan reassessment
- Administrative Review Tribunal: Our role
- Administrative Review Tribunal: National Disability Insurance Scheme
- NDIS Appeals Program
- NDIS: How to give feedback
This is general information, not personal advice. The NDIA and the Administrative Review Tribunal decide each case on its own facts, and NDIS rules and timeframes can change. Check ndis.gov.au and art.gov.au for current details, or speak with a disability advocate or your support coordinator about your situation.