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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Carroll and the Secretary, Department of Social Services, concerning an application for a Disability Support Pension. The applicant sought to establish that she had conditions that were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, resulting in at least 20 impairment points, and that she had a continuing inability to work.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had a physical, intellectual, or psychiatric condition that was fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised during the relevant period. It also needed to assess whether these conditions warranted an impairment rating of 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables, and if so, whether this constituted a severe impairment or if a program of support had been completed. Finally, the Tribunal had to ascertain whether the applicant had a continuing inability to work.

The Tribunal accepted that the applicant had impairments for the purposes of the Social Security Act 1991. It found that the applicant's depression, diagnosed by a treating General Practitioner and supported by a consultant clinical psychologist, satisfied the requirements for assessment under Table 5 of the Impairment Tables. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's combined physical and mental impairments attracted an impairment rating of 30 points, with 10 points for her mental health condition and 20 points for her spinal conditions. As this rating exceeded 20 points under a single table, it constituted a "severe impairment." The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant also met the remaining requirements for a continuing inability to work.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted it with a decision that the applicant qualified for the Disability Support Pension on 14 January 2016, the date she lodged her application.