Jarrett and Secretary, Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

[2007] AATA 2016

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2007] AATA 2016

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)          No 2007/3229

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE  DIVISION		)
Re		RICHARD JARRETT

Applicant

And SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF FAMILIES, COMMUNITY SERVICES & INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Mr S E Frost, Member

Date7 November 2007

PlaceSydney

Decision For the reasons given orally at the conclusion of the hearing, the Tribunal affirms the decision under review.

......................[Sgd]........................

Mr S E Frost
  Member

CATCHWORDS

FARM HOUSEHOLD SUPPORT - exceptional circumstances relief payment - no entitlement if receiving newstart allowance

LEGISLATION

Farm Household Support Act 1992 – sections 3(1), 8A(5) and 12(1)

Social Security Act 1991 – section 23(1)

REASONS FOR DECISION

4 December 2007 Mr S E Frost, Member        

1.      On 7 November 2007, at the conclusion of a telephone hearing, I delivered an oral decision in this matter, affirming the decision under review.  The Applicant, Mr Jarrett, has asked for a statement in writing of the reasons for my decision.  Those reasons follow.

2.      Mr Jarrett applied for exceptional circumstances relief payment in an application form dated 31 January 2007.  His claim was refused.  He sought review of that decision, and the original decision was confirmed.  He asked for the decision to be reviewed by an Authorised Review Officer (ARO) and the ARO also confirmed the original decision.  He appealed to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) and, once again, he was unsuccessful.  He then appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

3. One of the categories of person entitled to “exceptional circumstances relief payment” is a person who carries on a business of supplying goods or services to farmers, and whose business income is significantly reduced because of “exceptional circumstances” such as drought: s 8A(5) of the Farm Household Support Act 1992 .

4. However, whatever entitlement a person may have under that provision, the payment cannot be made to any person who is in receipt of a social security benefit. This is made clear by s 12(1) of the Farm Household Support Act 1992 which says that exceptional circumstances relief payment:

… is not payable to a person if the person is receiving a social security benefit, a social security pension or a service pension.

5.      During the telephone hearing I asked Mr Jarrett whether he had been receiving newstart allowance when he made his claim for exceptional circumstances relief.  He said he had been.  I also asked him whether he is still receiving newstart allowance.  He said that he is.  In fact, the documents lodged with the Tribunal by Centrelink show that he has been receiving newstart allowance since 1999 and that he is still receiving it now.

6. Newstart allowance is a “social security benefit”: see s 3(1) of the Farm Household Support Act 1992 and s 23(1) of the Social Security Act 1991.

7.      Mr Jarrett is not entitled to receive an exceptional circumstances relief payment because he was receiving newstart allowance when his claim for the relief payment was assessed.

8.      The Secretary has no discretion to alter that outcome, and nor do I.

9.      For these reasons, I affirmed the decision of the Secretary.

DECISION

10.     The decision is therefore, that the Tribunal affirms the decision under review. 

I certify that the 10 preceding paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for the decision herein of Mr S E Frost, Member

Signed:         ..............[Sgd].................................................................
  Associate

Date/s of Hearing  7 November 2007 
Date of Decision  7 November 2007
Date of Written Reasons          4 December 2007
Counsel for the Applicant         Self Represented
Counsel for the Respondent     Ken Bullock, Centrelink Legal Services