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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the appeal of Mr Clifford against the decision of the Secretary, Department of Social Services to cancel his Disability Support Pension. The central dispute concerned whether Mr Clifford qualified for the pension at the date of cancellation, specifically whether his impairments were rated 20 points or more under the relevant Impairment Tables.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Clifford's medical conditions were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised to the extent that they could be assigned an impairment rating under the Impairment Tables. This assessment was crucial to establishing whether he met the threshold of 20 or more impairment points necessary to qualify for the Disability Support Pension.

The Tribunal found that Mr Clifford agreed that his shoulder and right wrist conditions could not be considered fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that these conditions could be assigned an impairment rating. As a result, the Tribunal concluded that Mr Clifford’s conditions did not rate 20 or more impairment points at the time his Disability Support Pension was cancelled, and therefore affirmed the decision under review.