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

In *Dubois and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)*, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute concerning the repayment of an age pension debt. The applicant, Ms Dubois, had been assessed as owing a debt to the Department of Social Services, which arose from the attribution of assets held within a designated private trust. The core of the dispute centred on whether Ms Dubois was an "attributable stakeholder" in relation to this trust for the purposes of social security law.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the assets of the designated private trust should be attributed to Ms Dubois for the purposes of assessing her eligibility for, and the amount of, her age pension. This involved an examination of the relevant legislative provisions governing the attribution of trust assets to individuals under the social security legislation, and specifically whether Ms Dubois met the criteria to be considered an attributable stakeholder.

Deputy President B W Rayment P set aside the previous decision and remitted the matter for redetermination. The reasoning focused on the proper application of the trust asset attribution rules. The Tribunal found that the previous decision had erred in its interpretation and application of these rules, leading to an incorrect conclusion regarding Ms Dubois's status as an attributable stakeholder. Consequently, the matter was sent back to the Department for a fresh assessment, ensuring that the attribution rules were correctly applied to Ms Dubois's circumstances.