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

This matter concerned an application for a second review of a decision to reject Ms Brittain's claim for a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The dispute centred on whether Ms Brittain met the eligibility criteria for a DSP, specifically whether she had a sufficient level of impairment as assessed under the Impairment Tables. The decision was made by P E Nolan SM of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether Ms Brittain's various medical conditions, including shoulder and back conditions, a lower limb condition, a mental health condition, and morbid obesity, resulted in a combined impairment rating of at least 20 points under the relevant Impairment Tables. This assessment was to be confined to the "Relevant Period," which was defined by the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) as the thirteen weeks following the lodgement of her DSP claim on 19 May 2015.

The Tribunal considered the medical evidence relating to Ms Brittain's conditions. It was accepted that her shoulder conditions were fully diagnosed within the relevant period, but the impairment assessment for upper limb function, as recorded in the Job Capacity Assessment Report, indicated only a moderate impairment. This assessment resulted in an impairment rating of 5 points for her shoulder condition. The Tribunal noted that where two or more conditions cause a common or combined impairment, a single rating should be assigned, and it is inappropriate to assign separate ratings for each condition. Given that the impairment rating for the shoulder condition alone was only 5 points, which was significantly less than the required 20 points, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider whether Ms Brittain had an inability to work.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, concluding that Ms Brittain did not qualify for a DSP within the restricted period for the purposes of this application, although it was acknowledged that she might qualify at some future time.