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

This matter concerned an application for review of the rate of age pension paid to the applicant. The applicant was granted an age pension in 2012, and her pension rate was determined based on information regarding her spouse's income from a company. The dispute arose from the attribution of a $2,000 income amount to the 2016/17 financial year, which the applicant contended should have been attributed to the 2015/16 financial year, arguing her partner had no income after that period. The applicant claimed she was paid less than the full rate of age pension between 1 July 2016 and 20 September 2017 due to this accounting, and sought arrears. The decision under review was made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT1).

The Tribunal was required to determine two key issues: firstly, when the applicant first sought review of her age pension entitlement, and secondly, the earliest date at which she was entitled to be paid the maximum rate of age pension. These issues were central to determining the effective date of any favourable determination and the entitlement to arrears.

The Tribunal considered section 109 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth), which governs the effective date of favourable determinations following a review, distinguishing between reviews lodged within or outside the 13-week notification period, and also addressing situations where notice of the original decision was not given. Section 237 of the same Act, concerning how notice of a decision is taken to have been given, was also relevant. The Respondent initially submitted that the applicant first sought review on 12 March 2018, but later conceded that an online feedback submission on 16 December 2017 could be considered an application for review. The Tribunal accepted this interpretation, finding that the 16 December 2017 enquiry constituted an application for review of the applicant's rate of age pension. Consequently, the Adjustment Decision of 20 September 2017 was identified as the original decision under review.

The Tribunal set aside the decision of AAT1 and remitted the matter to the Respondent for reconsideration. The direction was that the applicant qualified for the full rate of age pension from 20 September 2017.