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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the appeal of JYHX against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services concerning JYHX's eligibility for a disability support pension. The core dispute revolved around whether JYHX's medical conditions were permanent and resulted in a functional impairment rating of 20 points or more under the relevant impairment tables.

The Tribunal was required to determine if JYHX's diagnosed medical conditions were permanent, meaning they had been fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, and were likely to persist for more than two years. Furthermore, the Tribunal had to assess whether these permanent conditions resulted in functional impairments that attracted a rating of 20 points or more according to the Impairment Tables, which are designed to measure the functional impact of impairments rather than the conditions themselves.

The Tribunal applied the principles outlined in the Social Security (Impairment Assessment) Determination, which stipulates that an impairment rating can only be assigned if a condition is permanent and the resulting impairment is likely to persist for more than two years. The determination of permanence requires full diagnosis, full treatment, full stabilisation, and the likelihood of persistence. The Tribunal found that while JYHX suffered from several impairments, including vision, hearing, headache, sleep apnoea, mental health, and cervical spine impairments, the evidence did not support a 20-point rating. Conditions such as ischaemic heart disease, hypertension, and diverticulitis were either having minimal impact or lacked sufficient evidence for assessment. The Tribunal concluded that the evidence did not demonstrate that JYHX's impairments attracted the required 20-point threshold.