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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Le against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services to cancel his Disability Support Pension (DSP). The appeal was heard by a Senior Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Le qualified for a DSP at the date of cancellation, specifically whether his impairments rated 20 points or more under the relevant tables for assessing functional capacity.

The Tribunal Member, J F Toohey SM, found that Mr Le's impairment of his left leg had a mild functional impact, rating five points on Table 3, and did not support a conclusion of moderate or severe functional impact. While the Tribunal was satisfied that Mr Le's impairments rated 15 points in total, this was insufficient to meet the threshold of 20 or more impairment points required for DSP qualification. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Mr Le's DSP.