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

This matter concerned an application for a disability support pension by Mr Cousins against the Secretary of the Department of Social Services. The dispute centred on whether Mr Cousins met the criteria for the pension, specifically concerning the severity of his impairments and his continuing inability to work. The decision was made by Dr L Bygrave, a Member of the Tribunal.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Cousins had a physical, intellectual, or psychiatric impairment that attracted 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables Determination, and whether he had a continuing inability to work. The Tribunal accepted that Mr Cousins had physical and psychiatric impairments during the qualification period, satisfying one limb of the eligibility requirements.

The Tribunal considered the medical evidence regarding Mr Cousins' chronic brain trauma, which resulted from a severe injury in 2018. While acknowledging the initial significant improvement during rehabilitation, the Tribunal noted that a neurosurgeon's report indicated a permanent deficit in his sense of smell and taste, and his general practitioner described his brain trauma as chronic, with no expectation of significant improvement and no further treatment planned. The general practitioner also detailed ongoing symptoms including poor concentration, memory, and focus, along with anxiety, tinnitus, neck and back pain, and poor endurance. However, the Tribunal found that Mr Cousins did not meet the threshold of 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables. Consequently, it was not necessary to determine whether he had a continuing inability to work.

The decision under review was affirmed.