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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between GRYB and the Secretary of the Department of Social Services concerning GRYB's eligibility for a Disability Support Pension. The core of the disagreement revolved around whether GRYB was considered a member of a couple for the purposes of the social security legislation, despite living in the same residence as her former partner due to circumstances of domestic violence and emotional abuse.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether GRYB and her former partner were living separately and apart for the purposes of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth), notwithstanding their continued co-residence in a jointly owned residential property. This involved assessing whether their relationship had broken down to the extent that they were no longer a couple in the eyes of the law, despite the physical proximity.

The Tribunal reasoned that the legislative intent behind the "member of a couple" provisions is to capture relationships where individuals share a domestic life and support each other. It found that the evidence of domestic violence and emotional abuse, coupled with GRYB's expressed desire to separate and her partner's controlling behaviour, indicated a fundamental breakdown in the relationship. The Tribunal concluded that the continued co-residence, under these coercive circumstances, did not negate the reality that the parties were living separately and apart. Consequently, the decision under review was set aside and remitted to the Secretary for reconsideration.