Budd and Secretary, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

[2008] AATA 137

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION AATA [2008] 137

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)          No 2007/1387

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE   DIVISION		)
Re		Pamela Budd

Applicant

And Secretary, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Ms N Bell, Senior Member

Date21 February 2008  

PlaceSydney

Decision  The decision under review is affirmed.

...................[Sgd]........................

Ms N Bell         
  Senior Member

SOCIAL SECURITY – Mobility Allowance – Travel Test – Voluntary Work Test – Decision under Review is Affirmed.

Social Security Act 1991

REASONS FOR DECISION

Ms N Bell, Senior Member

1.      Ms Budd undertakes voluntary work for St Clare’s Church in Waverly by writing poetry for people who suffer grief, sick people and students. However, Ms Budd suffers from chronic anxiety, which emanates from agoraphobia and social phobia - a fear of having anxiety symptoms in public places and an extreme fear of facing people. Since its onset in 1999, Ms Budd’s condition has become increasingly more incapacitating.

2. On 16 October 2006, Ms Budd lodged with Centrelink an application for Mobility Allowance and a treating doctor’s report completed by Dr L Goodman. In order to qualify for mobility allowance, Ms Budd must satisfy, among other things, the ‘travel test’ in section 1035 of the Social Security Act 1991. To satisfy the ‘travel test’, the nature of Ms Budd’s work must be such that she is required to travel to and from that work. Her application was rejected on this basis.

3.      Ms Budd does not agree with the Social Security Appeal Tribunal’s decision, which affirmed the Centrelink decision. She had various people, including Dr Rodriguez, her Psychologist, Sister Francis and Senator John Faulkner, among others, write to the Tribunal to support her application.

4.      Dr Rodriguez, in his report dated 19 June 2007, explained that Ms Budd is unable to make use of conventional forms of travelling such as public transport. Sister Francis stated in her letter, dated 30 May 2007, that Ms Budd’s travel is specific to her disability. She uses the phone, fax, courier and wheelchair to go out. Senator Faulkner, in his undated letter, generally supports her claim.

Issue

5. In order to qualify for mobility allowance, a person must, among other things, satisfy the travel test and the voluntary work test set out in section 1035 of the Act. The travel test requires that a person must travel to and from their home for the purpose of undertaking gainful employment or vocational training, job search activities or voluntary work. Voluntary work is defined as work approved by the Secretary undertaken in a voluntary capacity for charitable, welfare or community organisations.

6.      I must determine whether Ms Budd satisfies the travel test.

Does Ms Budd have to Travel to Conduct her Voluntary Work?

7.      Ms Budd suffers from social phobia and agoraphobia. By definition these conditions make it difficult for her to travel in public places. Ms Budd provided correspondence from her psychologist, Dr Rodriguez, in his report of 19 June 2007 said “Her symptoms are very debilitating and severely restrict her from attending to normal social and occupational matters.”

8.      Ms Budd said that due to her conditions, she conducts her voluntary work from her home. She seldom goes out of the house and will only do so to get stationary supplies and post letters. That is the extent of her travelling. Ms Budd also stated in her letter dated 26 November 2006 that she does not leave the house to do her voluntary work and instead writes the poems at home and then sends them to St Clare’s Church. In a letter, undated but received by the Tribunal on 5 November 2007, Ms Budd stated that “St Clare’s does not need me to do “face to face” work”.

9.      I find that Ms Budd does not satisfy the travel test because the nature of her voluntary work does not require her to travel to and from her home for the purpose of undertaking that work. Ms Budd is able to conduct her voluntary work from home. In making my finding I have taken into consideration the reports of Dr Hugo Rodriguez, the letters from Sister Francis, the letter from Senator John Faulkner and several letters that Ms Budd sent the Tribunal.  

10. Given the conclusion I have reached in relation to the travel test, it is unnecessary for me to consider whether Ms Budd’s work is voluntary work. However, I note that under section 1035(3) of the Act, voluntary work is defined as “work approved by the Secretary undertaken in a voluntary capacity for charitable, welfare or community organisations”. On the face of it, Ms Budd’s work for the Church appears to conform with the ordinary meaning of voluntary work. I do note that the Secretary did not make any oral submissions on this point but in a Statement of Facts and Contentions the Secretary submitted that writing poetry for the Church does not have any material value in the context of ‘voluntary work’ for ‘charitable, welfare or community organisations’. Grief counselling, counselling for the ill and their families, assistance to ill or elderly people, provision of emergency relief/food parcels or fund raising, are activities the Secretary considers would constitute voluntary work.  However, I note, again, the ordinary meaning of the words and the correspondence from Sister Francis which describes the helpful nature of Ms Budd’s work for the Church.

11.     For the above reasons I find that Ms Budd does not satisfy the travel test. It follows that she does not qualify for a mobility allowance.

Decision

12.     The decision under review is affirmed.

I certify that the 12 preceding paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for the decision herein of Ms N Bell, Senior Member

Signed:         .............[ Sanjiv Shah ]................
  Associate

Date of Hearing  19 December 2007
Date of Decision  21 February 2008

Solicitor for the Respondent  Mr K Bullock