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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr Kalokerinos and the Secretary, Department of Social Services, concerning Mr Kalokerinos's disability support pension. The dispute centred on the application of a compensation preclusion period and its effect on his eligibility for the pension.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether a compensation preclusion period of 294 weeks, commencing on 18 June 2009 and ending on 4 February 2015, was correctly applied to Mr Kalokerinos. It also had to consider whether the decision to cancel his disability support pension from 30 October 2014 was correct, and whether any special circumstances existed that would allow for a reduction or waiver of the preclusion period.

The Tribunal affirmed the application of the 294-week preclusion period, finding that Mr Kalokerinos was not qualified to receive the disability support pension during this time. Consequently, the cancellation of his pension from 30 October 2014 was deemed correct, with the Tribunal agreeing that cancellation, rather than suspension, was appropriate for an extended period of ineligibility in the public interest. Regarding special circumstances, the Tribunal noted that Mr Kalokerinos had received payments totalling $6,389.49 during the preclusion period and that the Secretary had the power under section 1184K of the Act to disregard such payments in special circumstances. However, drawing on the principles from *Groth v Secretary Department of Social Security*, the Tribunal indicated that "special circumstances" would require something to distinguish the case from the usual or ordinary, suggesting that unfairness or injustice would need to be demonstrated.