Al-Janabi and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Al-Janabi against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his eligibility for a disability support pension. The appeal was heard by Deputy J Walsh P.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Al-Janabi met the criteria for a disability support pension, specifically concerning the assessment of his impairments under the relevant legislation and international agreements. This involved determining if he had a physical, intellectual, and psychiatric impairment, whether these impairments rated 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables, and whether he had a continuing inability to work and was "severely disabled" as defined by the relevant international agreement.

The Tribunal interpreted Article 2(2) of the relevant international agreement as a provision of limitation, imposing a narrower test of total inability to work for two years, which was a subset of the broader work test under the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) concerning an inability to work 15 hours per week. The Tribunal was satisfied that Mr Al-Janabi had physical and psychiatric impairments, meeting the requirements of paragraph 94(1)(a) of the Act. However, the Tribunal found that Mr Al-Janabi did not qualify for the disability support pension during the claim period because he did not meet the threshold of 20 or more points under the Impairment Tables, as the conditions were not demonstrated to be permanent according to the criteria set out in the Impairment Tables Determination.

Consequently, as Mr Al-Janabi did not qualify for the disability support pension based on the impairment rating, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider whether he had a continuing inability to work or was "severely disabled." The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.