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

This matter concerned an application for a disability support pension, brought by the applicant against the Secretary of the Department of Social Services. The central dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the qualification criteria for the pension, specifically concerning the permanence of his impairments, at the date of his claim or during the relevant qualification period. The case was heard by Mrs J C Kelly, Senior Member.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant's impairments, namely chronic pain and spinal degeneration, had been fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, and whether reasonable treatment had been undertaken for these conditions. The Tribunal was required to determine if these conditions were permanent, a key criterion for the disability support pension.

The Tribunal reasoned that a condition is considered permanent if it has been fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised, as per the Impairment Tables. While the applicant's chronic pain and spinal degeneration were accepted as fully diagnosed within the qualification period, the evidence did not establish that they were fully treated and stabilised. Medical recommendations for interventional pain management procedures had not been carried out, and while the applicant had received some physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment, it was not consistently undertaken. Reports indicated an undertreated pain disorder and a need for a formal pain management program, including medication rationalisation and interventional pain management. However, the evidence did not satisfy the criteria for "reasonable treatment" under the Impairment Tables, particularly concerning availability at a reasonable cost and the likelihood of substantial functional improvement. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the necessary criteria to qualify for the disability support pension during the qualification period. The reviewable decision was affirmed.