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

This matter concerned an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) by an applicant whose Disability Support Pension (DSP) had been cancelled. The applicant sought to challenge the decision that he was not qualified to receive the DSP as at the date of cancellation. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the applicant's various medical conditions met the criteria for qualification under the relevant Impairment Tables.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant's medical conditions were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised as at the date of the cancellation of his DSP, and consequently, whether he could be assigned a total of 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the conditions of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, anaphylaxis, enuresis, immune deficiency, ADHD, and drug-induced psychosis in light of the evidence presented.

The Tribunal reasoned that for a condition to be considered fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, there must be sufficient corroborating medical evidence. In this instance, the Tribunal found that the evidence regarding the applicant's ADHD, mental health conditions, and substance abuse disorder was insufficient to establish that these conditions were fully diagnosed, treated, or stabilised at the relevant time. Consequently, these conditions did not attract the necessary points under the Impairment Tables. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not have an impairment rating of 20 points or more as at the cancellation date and therefore did not qualify for the DSP. The Tribunal affirmed the previous decision of the AAT.