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

This matter concerned an application for carer allowance by the applicant, who claimed to be caring for Mr Graeme Hanisch. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the requirements of section 954(1) of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) as at the date of her claim. Specifically, the issues were whether the care receiver had an Adult Disability Assessment Tool (ADAT) score of at least 30, and whether the applicant was an Australian resident. The decision was made by Senior Member P J Clauson.

The court was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the care receiver, Mr Hanisch, achieved an ADAT score of 30 or more, as mandated by section 954(1)(c) of the Act. Secondly, the court had to ascertain if the applicant qualified as an Australian resident under section 954(1)(f) of the Act. The applicant, a citizen of the Philippines, had arrived in Australia on 7 June 2018 and was residing in Australia under a Visa Sub-Class 020 granted on 2 April 2019.

In reaching its decision, the court considered the ADAT score calculation, which involves points allocated from both a medical professional's questionnaire and the caregiver's questionnaire, as prescribed by the *Adult Disability Assessment Determination 1999*. The Administrative Review Officer (ARO) had before them Dr Morgan's professional questionnaire from 30 October 2018, which yielded 18.5 points, and the applicant's questionnaire dated 16 January 2019, which resulted in 8.5 points. The combined score of 27 points was below the required threshold of 30. Furthermore, the ARO determined that the applicant was not an Australian resident at the relevant time, leading to the affirmation of the original rejection of the carer allowance claim.