Assie and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

This matter concerned Ms Assie's application for review of two decisions made by the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. The first decision affirmed the cancellation of her Disability Support Pension (DSP) from 17 November 2011, and the second decision affirmed the refusal of her subsequent DSP application made on 7 November 2013. The Secretary of the Department of Social Services sought review of a separate decision that Ms Assie did not have a debt to the Commonwealth arising from an overpayment of DSP.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Ms Assie qualified for a DSP at the date of the cancellation of her pension in November 2011, and whether she qualified for the pension when she made a new application in November 2013. A further issue was whether Ms Assie had incurred a debt to the Commonwealth due to an overpayment of DSP.

The Tribunal considered extensive medical evidence regarding Ms Assie's eyesight, including reports from ophthalmologists and optometrists, as well as surveillance footage. The Tribunal found that while Ms Assie had significant vision impairment, it did not meet the criteria for permanent blindness as required for the DSP at the relevant times. Evidence such as her ability to drive, work in a role requiring good visual acuity, and confident movement in surveillance footage was weighed against medical assessments of her visual acuity. The Tribunal concluded that Ms Assie did not qualify for the DSP on either the cancellation date or the refusal date.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Ms Assie's DSP and affirmed the decision that she did not qualify for DSP upon her subsequent application. However, the Tribunal set aside the decision that Ms Assie did not have a debt, substituting a decision that she owed the Commonwealth $209,499.90 for overpayments of DSP between 4 September 1990 and 27 November 2011.