Cavanagh-Hans and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

This matter concerned an application by the Applicant for carer payments, seeking to recover arrears from 7 July 2015 to October 2016. The Applicant's mother had been diagnosed with multiple serious medical conditions and had qualified for the Disability Support Pension. The core dispute revolved around whether the Applicant had provided "constant care" for his mother during the relevant period, as required by section 198(2) of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth). The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was tasked with determining this eligibility.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to assess whether the Applicant had satisfied the criteria for receiving carer payments, specifically by demonstrating that he provided "constant care" to his mother within the meaning of section 198(2) of the Act. This assessment was to be conducted retrospectively, focusing on the period from the date of the claim, 7 July 2015, to 6 October 2015, which was established as the relevant period by adopting a "date of claim plus 13 weeks" approach.

The Tribunal found that the Applicant had not satisfied the requirement of providing "constant care" as contemplated by section 198(2) of the Act. While acknowledging the Applicant's mother's significant health issues, the Tribunal's reasoning, though not detailed in the provided text, led to the conclusion that the Applicant's care did not meet the threshold of "constant care" as defined by the legislation. Consequently, the decision under review was affirmed.