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

This matter concerned an application by Ms Kalan for review of a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services affirming a decision that she was not eligible to receive Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for past periods. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether Ms Kalan's claims for FTB for these past periods were "effective" within the meaning of the relevant legislation.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms Kalan's claims for FTB for the past periods were made within the timeframes prescribed by the Act, specifically subsections 10(2) and (2A) of the relevant legislation. These provisions stipulate that a claim for FTB for a past period is not effective if lodged more than one year after the end of that period, or, in circumstances where special circumstances are found, more than two years after the end of that period.

The Tribunal reasoned that its authority was derived from statute and that it was bound to apply the legislative provisions as written, without exercising discretion beyond that expressly conferred. Applying the time limitations in section 10 of the Act to Ms Kalan's circumstances, the Tribunal found that her claims were lodged outside the permissible periods. Even if special circumstances were accepted for the most recent past financial year (2015/2016), an effective claim would have needed to be lodged by 30 June 2018. Ms Kalan lodged her claim on 11 September 2019, which was beyond this extended timeframe. Consequently, all her claims for the past periods were deemed ineffective and therefore taken not to have been made under the Act, meaning she had not satisfied the requirement under section 5 of the Act to make a claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.