Fry and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Veterans' entitlements)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Mr. Fry seeking to review a determination made by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission regarding incapacity payments. Mr. Fry had lodged an application with the Tribunal to extend the time for lodging his appeal, but no request had been made to the Commission for a reconsideration of its original determination.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there was a "reviewable decision" that it had jurisdiction to hear. This required the Tribunal to determine the meaning and application of sections 60 and 62 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988* (Cth), which define a reviewable decision and the process for reconsideration of a determination.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 62 of the Act, a claimant must first request the determining authority (the Commission) to reconsider its decision. This request must generally be made within 30 days of the claimant receiving notice of the decision, although the authority can allow further time. Only if the claimant is dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision can they then bring that decision to the Tribunal for a merits review. As Mr. Fry had not initiated this reconsideration process with the Commission, there was no "reviewable decision" for the Tribunal to consider.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to hear Mr. Fry's application. It therefore refused to extend the time for lodging the application and dismissed the application for want of jurisdiction.