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

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms Fahy against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which affirmed a previous decision that parenting payments (PP) should not be back-dated to 20 September 2017. Ms Fahy contended that she had posted a completed claim form to Centrelink on that date, but Centrelink held no record of its receipt. The AAT had found that the claim form was not sent in 2017 and that a deeming provision under section 12 of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth) applied, deeming the claim to have been made on 4 February 2020.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms Fahy was entitled to receive PP from 20 September 2017, or from a later date if any deeming provisions under the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth) were applicable. This required the Tribunal to consider when Ms Fahy had effectively made her claim for PP, having regard to the legislative framework governing social security payments, including section 11(1) of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth) which mandates a claim for entitlement, and section 16 of the same Act which outlines how a claim is considered to have been made.

The Tribunal set aside the AAT's decision and remitted the matter to the Secretary for reconsideration. The Tribunal directed that Ms Fahy be taken to have made her claim for PP on 4 February 2020, pursuant to section 12 of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth). This outcome indicates that while the Tribunal accepted that a claim was made, it did not accept the applicant's assertion that the claim was lodged in 2017, and instead applied a deeming provision to establish the date of the claim.