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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the appeal of Mr Karezi against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services to cancel his disability support pension. The core of the dispute concerned whether Mr Karezi met the criteria for the continued receipt of this pension, specifically whether his medical conditions were permanent, fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised, and whether he attained at least 20 points under the relevant Impairment Tables.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr Karezi's medical conditions satisfied the legislative requirements for a disability support pension, focusing on the permanence and stability of his impairments. This involved assessing whether his conditions were such that they would likely continue indefinitely and had reached a point where no further treatment was expected to significantly improve his functional capacity. The Tribunal also had to ascertain if the assessed level of impairment, as measured by the Impairment Tables, met the threshold for entitlement.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the disability support pension. It was found that Mr Karezi's circumstances, as presented and assessed, did not meet the necessary criteria for the pension to continue. The decision noted that if Mr Karezi's circumstances have changed since the date of cancellation, he retains the right to submit a new application for a disability support pension at any time.