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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Benge and the Secretary, Department of Social Services. The dispute concerned the applicant's entitlement to a disability support pension (DSP). The AAT was asked to determine whether it had the jurisdiction to consider the applicant's medical eligibility for the DSP, given that this issue had been considered by an authorised review officer but not by the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT).

The central legal issue before the AAT was whether its jurisdiction was limited to reviewing the SSAT's decision, which had set aside a previous decision and remitted the matter with a direction, or if it could also review the applicant's underlying medical eligibility for the DSP. The AAT had to ascertain the scope of its review powers in this specific context.

The AAT reasoned that its role was to review the decision of the SSAT. As the SSAT had set aside the decision under review and remitted the matter with a direction, the AAT's jurisdiction was confined to reviewing that direction. The AAT concluded that it did not have the jurisdiction to review the applicant's medical eligibility for the DSP, as this had not been the subject of the SSAT's determination. The AAT therefore held that it could not consider the applicant's medical eligibility for the DSP.