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

This decision concerns a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) of a decision made by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services. The core of the dispute revolves around the nature and scope of the Tribunal's power to review decisions, particularly in the context of social security matters.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether it possessed the power to review decisions of the Secretary, Chief Executive Officer, or an authorised review officer under the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, and whether it had the power to review its own previous decisions made on a first review. The Tribunal was required to interpret the provisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (AAT Act) and the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to ascertain the extent of its jurisdiction.

The Tribunal reasoned that its primary function, as outlined in section 2A of the AAT Act, is to provide a mechanism for reviewing decisions made under enactments. It noted that Part IV of the AAT Act specifically deals with the review of decisions made in the exercise of powers conferred by enactments. The Tribunal concluded that when an enactment, such as the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, provides for applications to be made for review of specific decisions, the Tribunal necessarily possesses the complementary power to conduct such reviews. This power extends to both first reviews of decisions by departmental officers and second reviews of the Tribunal's own prior decisions. The definition of "proceeding" in section 3(1) of the AAT Act was also considered, which broadly encompasses various applications and matters referred to the Tribunal, reinforcing its review jurisdiction.