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

The applicant, Ms Born, sought review of a decision affirming the rejection of her claim for a disability support pension (DSP). The dispute concerned whether Ms Born qualified for the DSP at the date of her claim, 5 November 2015, or 13 weeks thereafter. This was the latest in a series of unsuccessful applications for the DSP, with previous tribunals having allocated a maximum of ten points towards her claim.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Ms Born's medical conditions were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, and whether these conditions attracted sufficient points under the relevant Impairment Tables to qualify her for a DSP. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine the functional impact of her left shoulder condition during the qualification period.

The Tribunal applied the principles established in *Bobera and Secretary, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs* [2012] AATA 922, which clarified that the assessment of a condition's stability and likely persistence must be based on the evidence available at the time of the DSP application. Subsequent progression of a condition cannot be used to directly award a DSP. The respondent conceded that Ms Born's left shoulder dislocation was fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised. However, the respondent contended that this condition only caused a moderate functional impact on her upper limb function. The Tribunal considered the criteria for moderate and severe functional impact under Table 2 of the Impairment Tables, noting that a finding of moderate impact required difficulty with most of a list of everyday tasks, while severe impact required most of a more stringent list of difficulties.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.