De Silva Wijeyeratne and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mrs De Silva Wijeyeratne against a decision regarding her qualification for a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The dispute centred on whether her bilateral knee and mental health conditions met the criteria for a DSP, specifically whether the impairment attracted a rating of 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables and whether she had undertaken a program of support. The decision was made by Ms Anna Burke, Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mrs De Silva Wijeyeratne's impairments were of a severity to qualify for a DSP under section 94(1) of the relevant Act. This involved assessing whether her conditions were permanent, as defined by section 6(4) of the Impairment Tables, which requires a condition to be fully diagnosed, fully treated, fully stabilised, and likely to persist for more than two years. The Tribunal also had to consider the requirement for corroborating evidence of impairment, as self-reporting of symptoms alone is insufficient.

The Tribunal reasoned that Mrs De Silva Wijeyeratne's qualification for the DSP was to be assessed within a qualifying period of 13 weeks from the date of her claim, ending on 23 February 2017. Crucially, the Tribunal found that Mrs De Silva Wijeyeratne had been assessed as having a continuing ability to work and presented no evidence to contradict this finding. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.