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

This matter came before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal concerning a dispute between Mr Goonewardena and the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding the calculation of Mr Goonewardena's disability support pension (DSP). Mr Goonewardena, who has been unable to work since a back injury in 1996, qualified for the DSP in 2003. His pension rate has consistently been assessed considering his wife's earnings, as per section 1064-A2 of the Social Security Act 1991, which treats members of a couple as sharing their resources.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Goonewardena's circumstances warranted a waiver of a debt arising from the reduced rate of his DSP. This reduction occurred after his wife received a redundancy package from the Australian Tax Office, which triggered an income maintenance period. The Secretary contended that there was no evidence of special circumstances that would justify a waiver.

The Tribunal considered that Mrs Goonewardena had actively sought and received detailed financial advice from Centrelink regarding the implications of her redundancy package and superannuation on both her and her husband's social security entitlements. This advice, provided before her termination, included various scenarios for structuring her payments and income stream. The Tribunal noted that Mrs Goonewardena appeared to have chosen an option that preserved her superannuation and served out her income maintenance period, which was intended to maximise her husband's DSP and her Newstart allowance. The Tribunal also observed that Mr Goonewardena might have been exempt from the impact of his wife's termination payment on his pension if he had transferred to the aged pension earlier. Given Mrs Goonewardena's proactive engagement with Centrelink and the information provided, the Tribunal found no basis to conclude that Mr Goonewardena's circumstances were special and therefore did not attract a waiver of the debt.