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

This matter concerned an appeal by Jasmin Khan against a decision of the Social Services and Child Support Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Mrs Khan had been in receipt of Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP) which was cancelled by the Department of Social Services (the Agency) as of 22 June 2015. The Agency conceded that the cancellation was an error, as Mrs Khan remained the principal carer of a child under six years of age at that time. Mrs Khan sought arrears of PPP, arguing she should have continued to receive the payment. The Secretary of the Department of Social Services contended that arrears were not payable because Mrs Khan did not seek a review of the cancellation decision within the prescribed 13-week period.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mrs Khan was entitled to be paid arrears of PPP, despite having failed to lodge a review request within the statutory timeframe. This required the Tribunal to consider the application of section 109 of the *Social Security Administration Act 1999* (Cth), which governs the date of effect of favourable determinations resulting from a review. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine the date on which Mrs Khan first sought review of the original cancellation decision.

The Tribunal found that while the cancellation of Mrs Khan's PPP was indeed an error, she was notified of this decision on 9 June 2015 and was advised of the 13-week time limit for seeking review. Although Mrs Khan gave evidence of attending a Centrelink office within this period, the Tribunal was not satisfied that this constituted a formal request for review, particularly as there was no record of such contact and the matter had not been raised previously. The first recorded contact regarding the cancellation decision was an enquiry made by Mrs Khan's husband on 9 February 2016, and Mrs Khan herself first formally sought review of the cancellation decision on 8 September 2020. Applying section 109(2) of the *Social Security Administration Act 1999* (Cth), which stipulates that favourable determinations resulting from reviews initiated more than 13 weeks after notification take effect from the date of the review application, the Tribunal concluded that Mrs Khan was ineligible for arrears relating to the 2015 cancellation.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, meaning Mrs Khan was not entitled to be paid arrears of PPP from the date of the erroneous cancellation in 2015.