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

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms Broun against a decision of the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding her eligibility for a disability support pension. The appeal was heard by a Tribunal, which was required to consider the application of the *Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999* and whether Ms Broun was "severely disabled" for the purposes of that Act.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether Ms Broun's impairments rendered her totally unable to work for at least the next two years, as required by Article 1(m) of the 2017 New Zealand Agreement (NZA). This involved assessing the impact of her diagnosed spinal and psychological impairments, and considering whether other reported medical conditions were sufficiently evidenced and impactful to be taken into account.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Ms Broun suffered from spinal and psychological impairments, the evidence did not establish that she was "totally unable" to work in any capacity. Medical evidence regarding her mental health condition suggested she might not be able to "sustain" employment, but this was considered too vague and did not equate to total inability to work. Similarly, for her spinal condition, reports indicated no significant functional impact or total inability to work, and a later questionnaire report suggesting she could not work eight hours per week was inconsistent with other medical evidence and did not establish total inability to undertake any work. The Tribunal concluded that for conditions other than her spinal and mental health impairments, there was insufficient evidence of functional impact.