Girdlestone and Secretary, Department of Social Services

This matter concerned an application by Mrs Girdlestone for a review of a decision to reject her late application for registration in the Pension Bonus Scheme (PBS). Mrs Girdlestone, born in 1945, lodged her registration form on 10 February 2016, which was significantly after the legislative cut-off date. Her application was initially rejected by the Department of Human Services – Centrelink, a decision affirmed by an Authorised Review Officer, and subsequently by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT1). Mrs Girdlestone then sought a further review by the Tribunal, arguing for a fair and equitable outcome.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the decision to reject Mrs Girdlestone’s application for registration in the PBS, lodged on 10 February 2016, was correct. This involved considering the application of sections 92C and 92D of the *Social Security Act 1991* (the Act) regarding qualification for the PBS, and the timeframe for registration as stipulated by section 92H of the Act. The Tribunal also had to determine whether it had the power to dismiss the application under section 42B of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (AAT Act) if it was satisfied the application had no reasonable prospect of success.

The Tribunal reasoned that Mrs Girdlestone reached Age Pension age on 30 April 2009, and under section 92H of the Act, was required to lodge her registration for the PBS within a specific timeframe, which effectively ended on 29 July 2009. Her lodgement on 10 February 2016 was approximately 19 months after the legislative deadline for accepting registrations. While Mrs Girdlestone claimed to have contacted Centrelink in late 2014 or early 2015 and received incorrect advice, the Tribunal noted that there was no evidence of such contact in the Centrelink records, and crucially, that registration was no longer possible after 1 July 2014, regardless of any advice received. The Tribunal found that the legislation provided no discretion for extending the registration period.

Applying the principles for dismissal under section 42B of the AAT Act, the Tribunal concluded that Mrs Girdlestone's application had no reasonable prospect of success. It found that allowing the matter to proceed to a further hearing would be an inappropriate use of time and resources. Therefore, the Tribunal dismissed Mrs Girdlestone's application pursuant to section 42B(1) of the AAT Act.