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

This matter concerned an application for a disability support pension by the Applicant, Ms. Levandovskaya, against the Secretary of the Department of Social Services. The Applicant sought to establish eligibility for the pension based on several conditions, including depression, anxiety, and osteoarthritis. The core of the dispute revolved around whether these conditions met the legislative requirements for the pension, specifically concerning their diagnosis, treatment, and stabilisation during the relevant qualification period. The decision was made by Dr. Damien Cremean, Senior Member.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the Applicant satisfied the requirements of section 94(1) of the relevant Act. This involved determining if her diagnosed conditions were permanent, which in turn required assessing whether they were fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised during the qualification period. If these criteria were met, the Tribunal would then need to consider the assignment of a points rating and whether the Applicant also satisfied section 94(1)(c) of the Act.

The Tribunal found that while the Applicant's mental health conditions and osteoarthritis were sufficiently diagnosed, they were not fully treated and stabilised during the qualification period. The Respondent conceded the diagnosis of mental health conditions and the Tribunal was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the osteoarthritis was also fully diagnosed. However, the evidence did not support a finding that the conditions had received full treatment or were stabilised. Consequently, the Applicant failed to meet the requirements of section 94(1)(b) of the Act. As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal did not need to consider section 94(1)(c). The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, meaning the Applicant was not entitled to receive payments of the disability support pension for the period in question.