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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Davies against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his Farm Household Allowance (FHA) claim. The central dispute revolved around the application and calculation of an income maintenance period, and whether Mr Davies was experiencing severe financial hardship that would warrant a reduction in that period.

The court was required to determine three key issues: first, whether an income maintenance period was applicable to Mr Davies' FHA claim; second, if an income maintenance period was applicable, whether the period imposed by the Department, from 1 December 2016 to 6 April 2017, was correctly calculated; and third, if the period was correctly calculated, whether it could be reduced due to Mr Davies suffering severe financial hardship as a result of incurring unavoidable or reasonable expenditure. The relevant legislation included the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth), the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth), and the *Farm Household Support Act*.

The court found that an income maintenance period was indeed applicable to Mr Davies' claim. This was because a redundancy payment received by his partner, Ms Hamilton, upon termination of her employment, constituted a "termination payment" as defined by the Act. This payment was therefore to be treated as ordinary income received over a specific period, known as the income maintenance period. The court also noted that settlement monies received were similarly considered a "termination payment" connected with the termination of employment. Regarding the calculation of the income maintenance period, the court varied the decision under review to correct the period to run from 1 December 2016 to 27 April 2017. However, the court determined that there was no discretion to reduce the income maintenance period on the grounds of severe financial hardship, despite acknowledging the appellant's argument that funds were needed for living expenses.