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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Byrne to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding decisions by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services to refuse his claims for a Disability Support Pension and a JobSeeker Payment. The refusal was based on the application of a compensation preclusion period arising from lump sum compensation payments Mr Byrne received for a workplace injury. Mr Byrne did not dispute the existence of the preclusion period but sought to have it disregarded due to special circumstances.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it should exercise its discretion under section 1184K of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) to treat some or all of the compensation payment as not having been made, thereby overriding the compensation preclusion period. This required the Tribunal to determine if Mr Byrne's circumstances were "special" within the meaning of the legislation.

The Tribunal calculated the compensation preclusion period by first determining the "compensation part" of Mr Byrne's lump sum payments, which was 50% of the total amount received ($521,500), equating to $260,750. This amount was then divided by the relevant "income cut-out amount" ($993.60 per week) to establish a preclusion period of 262 weeks, commencing on 9 July 2018 and ending on 16 July 2023. While acknowledging Mr Byrne's current difficulties, the Tribunal found that these circumstances did not meet the threshold of "special circumstances" as contemplated by Parliament to justify the exercise of the discretion.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, meaning Mr Byrne remained subject to the compensation preclusion period and was ineligible to receive the social security payments until 16 July 2023.