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

This matter concerned an application for review by GJCN of decisions made by the Secretary, Department of Social Services, relating to his eligibility for a Newstart allowance and a Disability Support Pension. The core of the dispute involved whether GJCN's application for a Disability Support Pension should have been deemed, whether he should have been exempted from the activity test, and whether he should have been required to enter into an activity agreement. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to review these substantive decisions.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal's (AAT) review of the substantive decisions was a prerequisite for a second-tier review, and whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to consider the original decisions if the AAT had not yet considered them on their merits. The Tribunal also had to determine if a decision by an Authorised Review Officer (ARO) affirming earlier decisions was a reviewable decision in itself, or merely a step in the process.

The Tribunal reasoned that its jurisdiction to consider the original decisions was contingent upon the AAT having first considered those decisions on their merits. Citing established authorities, the Tribunal affirmed that it could only review a decision that had already been reviewed by the AAT and subsequently affirmed, varied, or set aside. The Tribunal found that while the ARO's determination affirming earlier decisions was a reviewable decision, its own jurisdiction to delve into the merits of those original decisions was not yet enlivened. The Tribunal agreed with a prior AAT determination that GJCN's application had arguable merit but lacked practical utility, as a favourable outcome would not result in any retrospective benefit or the granting of the Disability Support Pension from the date he contended he first qualified.

Consequently, the Tribunal concurred with the AAT's prior finding that reinstating the application would be futile, as no practical benefit could be achieved for GJCN. Therefore, the Tribunal decided it was not appropriate to reinstate the application.