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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Kornmann against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding the date of effect for a higher rate of carer payment. The dispute arose because Centrelink had taken into account incorrect income information when assessing Mr Kornmann's entitlement, and he had failed to respond to electronic notifications regarding this matter. The decision was made by Dr Stewart Fenwick, Senior Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the date from which Mr Kornmann's increased carer payment rate should take effect. This involved considering whether Mr Kornmann had consented to receiving electronic communications from Centrelink and, if so, whether he had reasonably accessed the information provided electronically, particularly in light of his infrequent use of online services. The Tribunal also had to consider the implications of his failure to raise concerns about the payment calculation within the prescribed timeframe.

The Tribunal reasoned that by creating a myGov account and linking it to his Centrelink account, Mr Kornmann had accepted terms of use that included explicit agreement to receive correspondence electronically. Section 14A of the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth) was applied, deeming electronic communication to be received when it is capable of retrieval by the addressee at their designated electronic address. Despite Mr Kornmann's infrequent use of online services and the fact that some communications may have been sent by mail, the Tribunal found that the requirement under section 9(1)(a) of the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth) for information to be readily accessible was met, given his engagement with online government services. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mr Kornmann must be understood to have consented to receiving communications electronically and that his failure to read these communications meant he did not identify the error in his payment calculation within the required 13-week period.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, ordering that the increased rate of carer payment would take effect from the date Mr Kornmann sought review, which was 10 July 2019, rather than an earlier date.