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

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to reject Mr Evans' claim for a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The applicant, Mr Evans, lodged his claim for DSP on 7 May 2018, listing several medical conditions affecting his limbs and mobility. Centrelink initially rejected the claim, finding that Mr Evans did not have a sufficient impairment rating and that his conditions were not fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised. An Authorised Review Officer affirmed this decision, and subsequently, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirmed the rejection. Mr Evans then applied to the General Division of the Tribunal for a review of the AAT's decision.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Evans' impairments met the criteria for a DSP, specifically whether his impairment rating was 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables, and whether his conditions were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised. A crucial aspect of the determination involved establishing the relevant qualification period for assessing eligibility, which was to be the date of the claim (7 May 2018) or within the following 13 weeks. The Tribunal was required to consider medical evidence pertaining to Mr Evans' condition within this qualification period, with reports from after this period being relevant only to the extent they referred to his condition during that time.

The Tribunal reasoned that the qualification period for assessing Mr Evans' eligibility for DSP commenced on 7 May 2018 and concluded on 6 August 2018. It applied section 94(1) of the Social Security Act 1991, which requires a claimant to have a physical, intellectual, or psychiatric impairment of 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables, and one of the specified conditions regarding work capacity. The Tribunal found that Mr Evans did not achieve the requisite 20-point impairment rating. Consequently, as the criteria in section 94(1) are conjunctive, the Tribunal did not need to consider whether he had a continuing inability to work.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that Mr Evans did not meet the criteria for a Disability Support Pension.