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

This matter concerned an appeal by an applicant against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which affirmed the Secretary's decision to cancel the applicant's Disability Support Pension (DSP). The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the eligibility requirements for the DSP on 1 October 2019, the date of cancellation.

The court was required to determine whether the applicant's impairments, assessed according to the Social Security (Tables for the Assessment of work-related Impairment for Disability Support Pension) Determination 2011, resulted in an impairment rating of 20 points or more, as mandated by section 94(1)(b) of the Social Security Act 1999 (Cth). The court also considered the criteria for assessing whether an impairment is permanent, fully diagnosed, fully treated, and stabilised for the purposes of the Impairment Tables.

The court reasoned that the applicant's qualification for the DSP must be assessed based on their condition as at 1 October 2019. It was noted that the Impairment Tables are designed to assess the functional impact of an impairment, and an impairment rating can only be assigned if the condition is permanent, meaning it has been fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, and is likely to persist for more than two years. The court found that the applicant had a total impairment rating of 15 points across two Impairment Tables on the relevant date, and therefore did not satisfy the requirement of 20 or more points under section 94(1)(b) of the Act. The applicant's assertion that his conditions had worsened since the cancellation date was deemed irrelevant to the assessment of his eligibility on 1 October 2019.

Consequently, the court affirmed the Reviewable Decision of the AAT dated 18 December 2019.