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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Kochergen against a decision of the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his eligibility for a disability support pension (DSP). The core dispute revolved around whether Mr Kochergen's medical conditions were fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised during the relevant assessment period, and whether these conditions resulted in a severe impairment that would qualify him for the pension. The case was heard by I F Thompson M.

The legal issues before the court were whether Mr Kochergen's impairments could be assigned 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables during the assessment period of 15 August 2016 to 14 November 2016, and consequently, whether he had a continuing inability to work. It was conceded by Mr Kochergen that he did not satisfy the 'program of support requirement' during this period. Therefore, his qualification for the DSP hinged entirely on whether any single impairment could be rated as 'severe' under the Impairment Tables, which would bypass the need to demonstrate participation in a program of support.

The court reasoned that for Mr Kochergen to qualify for the DSP, he needed to demonstrate one or more impairments rated at least 20 points under the Impairment Tables, and a continuing inability to work. Given the concession regarding the program of support, the critical question was the severity of his impairments. The court found that Mr Kochergen had not qualified for the DSP during the assessment period. Consequently, the decision under review was set aside, and it was substituted with a determination that Mr Kochergen was not qualified to receive the disability support pension from 15 August 2016 or within 13 weeks of that date.