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

This matter concerned a review of a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services to cancel the applicant's Disability Support Pension. The applicant contended that she qualified for the pension at the date of cancellation, despite the Secretary's decision. The review was heard by Senior Member A Poljak.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the applicant satisfied the requirements of subsections 94(1)(b) and (c) of the Social Security Act 1999 (Cth) at the date of cancellation. This involved determining if the applicant's various medical conditions, including a mental health condition, a lower limb condition, and endometriosis, were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, and whether they would persist for more than two years, as required by the Impairment Tables. The court also had to consider the rules for assigning impairment ratings, particularly when a condition falls between two ratings or when multiple conditions contribute to a common impairment.

The Senior Member reasoned that an impairment rating could only be assigned if a condition was considered permanent, meaning it had been fully diagnosed, fully treated, fully stabilised, and was likely to persist for more than two years. The court noted that the Secretary accepted the applicant suffered from a number of conditions at the date of cancellation, satisfying subsection 94(1)(a). However, the Secretary contended the mental health condition was not fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised. The Senior Member applied the principles within the Impairment Tables, including section 11(1)(c) which mandates assigning the lower rating if an impairment falls between two ratings, and sections 10(5) and 10(6) concerning combined impairments.

Ultimately, the Senior Member found that the applicant's impairments did not rate 20 or more points on the Impairment Tables. Consequently, it was not necessary to consider whether she had a continuing inability to work at the date of cancellation. The decision under review was affirmed, with the applicant advised that she could reapply for the Disability Support Pension at any time.