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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Kormali against a decision of the Secretary, Department of Social Services, regarding the start date for his disability support pension. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether the pension should have been payable from a date prior to the date of his claim.

The primary legal issue was whether Mr Kormali qualified for his disability support pension to commence before the date he lodged his claim on 7 April 2015. This involved interpreting sections 11 and 42 of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth) and clause 3 of Schedule 2 of that Act, which generally stipulate that a social security payment commences on the date of claim. The Tribunal also considered the exception provided by section 13 of the *Administration Act*, which allows for a claim to be deemed to have been made on an earlier date if certain conditions are met.

The Tribunal reasoned that, as a general rule, eligibility for a disability support pension must be met on the date of claim, or within 13 weeks thereafter. Section 13 of the *Administration Act* provides an exception where a claim can be backdated if the Department was contacted prior to the claim, the claimant was eligible at that time, and a formal claim was lodged within 14 days of receiving written notice. The Tribunal found that there was no evidence of such prior contact by Mr Kormali with the Department in relation to the claim made on 7 April 2015. The Tribunal emphasised that it was bound to interpret and apply the relevant legislation as enacted and had no discretion to determine what might be considered fair in the circumstances.

Accordingly, the decision under review was affirmed.