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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Danaro against a decision affirming the rejection of his claim for an Australian age pension. The dispute centred on whether contributions made by Mr Danaro to the Italian pension fund, the Istituto Nazionale Previdenza e Assistenza Dipendenti Administrazione Pubblica (INPDAP), should be recognised for the purposes of calculating his notional residence under the bilateral social security agreement between Australia and Italy. The case was heard by Emeritus Professor P A Fairall, Senior Member.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether the INPDAP scheme was a recognised fund under Article 2 of the Italian Agreement, thereby allowing Mr Danaro's contributions to be counted towards the qualifying period for an Australian age pension. This required an interpretation of the scope of the Agreement and the nature of the INPDAP fund in light of information provided by Italian authorities.

The Tribunal accepted the respondent's contention that the Social Security Guide's policy should be applied unless there were cogent reasons not to. Information from the INPS Central Pensions Office indicated that while INPS now manages former INPDAP operations, the special pension scheme for public servants (INPDAP) is not included in the schemes listed under Article 2 of the Bilateral Agreement. The Tribunal found this information credible, despite Mr Danaro's arguments regarding the email's formality and mandatory nature. The Tribunal also noted a previous, unreported Social Security Appeals Tribunal decision that reached a similar conclusion regarding INPDAP contributions.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that Mr Danaro's contributions to the INPDAP fund could not be recognised for calculating his notional residence. His total qualifying residence, including actual and recognised notional residence, fell short of the required 10 years. The Tribunal therefore affirmed the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.