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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Brady against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his eligibility for a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether Mr Brady's medical conditions met the criteria for a DSP, specifically whether his impairments attracted an impairment rating of 20 or more points under the relevant tables.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Brady's medical conditions were fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised, and whether these conditions resulted in an impairment rating of 20 or more points under the Impairment Tables. The Tribunal also had to consider whether Mr Brady had a continuing inability to work.

The Tribunal reasoned that an impairment rating could only be assigned if the condition causing the impairment was permanent, meaning it had been fully diagnosed, fully treated, fully stabilised, and was likely to persist for more than two years. While the Secretary accepted Mr Brady suffered from impairments, the Tribunal found that his mental health condition could not be considered for the DSP application as it had not been diagnosed by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist until after the relevant qualification period. Although a psychiatrist later reported a "severe impairment" due to major depression, this diagnosis was too late for the current application, but Mr Brady was advised he could make a new application. The Tribunal concluded that Mr Brady's spinal, COPD, and chronic pain impairments met the requirements of section 94(1)(a) of the Act. However, the decision text does not explicitly state the final impairment rating or whether the 20-point threshold was met, nor does it detail the final orders.