Anna’s Story

Guardian first met Anna in late 2020, when she became interested in living in one of our Moonee Ponds apartments. Anna is a mature woman who has been living in her family home, but her mother’s deteriorating health means that Anna now needs to move out on her own. Feeling confident that the NDIS system would offer her a choice of housing to suit her needs, Anna applied for SDA eligibility. The evidence that she provided included a highly detailed OT report outlining her physical, functional and social reasons about why living alone would be the most suitable option for her, and how Moonee Ponds would meet her disability needs and her living preferences.

First up, the NDIS decided that Anna would only qualify for shared living, despite the evidence in her OT assessment, completed by one of the most experienced OTs in the business, Jane Galvin. She then asked for that decision to be reviewed, but that resulted in the same result – a shared living arrangement only. After discussing her options with a whole range of people, she decided to appeal this decision to the AAT.

The AAT journey involved a lot of frustration, and tested Anna’s resilience all the way. She was fortunate to have a great lawyer on her side though, Naomi Anderson from Villa Manta legal service, and finally a hearing was held in early December 2022. The outcome was advised to Anna on the 9th Feb 2022, and the tribunal found in her favour. The details of that decision can be found at AAT.

Given how unnecessarily gruelling the process was, Anna has submitted a complaint to the NDIA. That complaint process is currently underway.

We are excited to confirm that Anna moved into her Moonee Ponds home in June 2022

“My life is so much better”.

We love a good outcome!