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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute concerning the applicant's entitlement to an age pension, specifically in relation to the assets test. The applicant sought to have assets held within family companies and a trust attributed to him for the purposes of calculating his pension eligibility. The core of the dispute revolved around the percentage of these assets that should be considered his personal assets under the relevant social security legislation.

The legal issues before the Tribunal included whether it should exercise its discretion under section 33(1)(a) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) to prevent the applicant from relitigating matters previously decided by the Tribunal. The Tribunal also had to determine, if it did not refuse to relitigate, what attribution percentage should apply to the applicant's interests in designated private companies and trusts for the purposes of the age pension assets test.

The Tribunal acknowledged the respondent's submission that the applicant had repeatedly sought to relitigate the same issues and had impugned the integrity of Tribunal members. However, the Tribunal decided not to exercise its discretion to refuse relitigation, stating a desire to ensure all material was considered. The Tribunal indicated that it would adopt the reasoning and findings of previous Tribunal members where appropriate. The Tribunal ultimately affirmed the decision under review.