Grice and Respondent

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision of the Commissioner of Superannuation, brought before Deputy President McDermott. The applicant sought to challenge a decision made on 22 June 1984, by which he was paid a lump sum of his accumulated contributions.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the 1984 decision was a "reviewable decision" within the meaning of section 154(2) of the relevant Superannuation Act 1976. This required the Tribunal to consider whether the applicant had complied with the procedural requirements for seeking a review, including the time limits for lodging a request for reconsideration and whether any subsequent actions constituted a confirmation or variation of the original decision under section 154(4).

Deputy President McDermott reasoned that the payment of a lump sum under section 80(1) of the 1976 Act, made after the applicant completed a refund form, was not a reviewable decision. Furthermore, the applicant's purported notice of reconsideration, dated 30 April 1984, preceded the decision of 22 June 1984, and therefore could not constitute a valid request for reconsideration. The Tribunal also considered a letter from the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation dated 26 October 2021, finding that it did not purport to be a notice of reconsideration or a confirmation or variation of the 1984 decision under section 154(4). The Tribunal noted that the applicant had not provided evidence of any reconsideration of the 1984 decision or a subsequent decision of the Superannuation Board that had been confirmed or varied.

Consequently, the application for review was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.