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

This matter concerned an application by BWNY for an extension of time to seek a review of a decision by the Secretary, Department of Social Services, concerning a widow allowance debt. The Tribunal was required to consider the merits of the substantive application in determining whether to grant the extension.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant had incurred a widow allowance debt of $16,922.16 for the period between 8 March 2010 and 23 November 2012, and if so, whether there were any grounds for writing off or waiving all or part of that debt. The Tribunal also had to determine if it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant an extension of time for the review.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had been overpaid widow allowance, resulting in a debt to the Commonwealth under subsection 1223(1) of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth). The Tribunal considered the provisions for writing off debts under section 1236 of the Act, finding no evidence that the debt was irrecoverable, the debtor lacked capacity to repay, or that recovery was not cost-effective. Regarding waiver, the Tribunal found no evidence of sole administrative error by the Commonwealth under section 1237A of the Act. Furthermore, applying the principles from *Groth v Secretary, Department of Social Security* [1995] FCA 1708, the Tribunal found no "special circumstances" under section 1237AAD of the Act that would warrant waiving the debt, as there was nothing to distinguish the applicant's case from ordinary circumstances or suggest an unfair or unjust outcome.

Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that it was reasonable in the circumstances to grant the extension of time and therefore refused the application.