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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) reviewed a decision concerning Mr. Lipohar's entitlement to the Newstart allowance and an alleged overpayment, which resulted in a debt to the Commonwealth. The core of the dispute revolved around whether Mr. Lipohar was considered a member of a couple during a specific debt period, which impacted the rate of his aged pension and subsequently his Newstart allowance. The Tribunal was tasked with determining the existence of an age pension debt, its attribution to Mr. Lipohar, and whether this debt should be recovered, in part or in full.

The legal issues before the AAT included whether Mr. Lipohar was a member of a couple with Ms. Goulan Zhang within the meaning of the *Social Security Act 1991* during the relevant debt period. Further, the Tribunal had to ascertain if an age pension debt was owed by Mr. Lipohar and, if so, the extent to which it should be recovered. A significant aspect of the case involved the interpretation of a previous Tribunal decision that had been set aside, and whether this setting aside extended to eliminating the underlying facts used to formulate that decision, and if a subsequent decision-maker could reconsider those same facts.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Lipohar failed to comply with his obligation under social security law to notify Centrelink within 14 days of his marriage to Ms. Zhang. This failure was deemed to be the sole reason for the debt arising. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mr. Lipohar was not eligible for the waiver of the debt under section 1237AA of the *Social Security Act 1991*, as the debt arose directly from his non-disclosure. The Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal made on 16 April 2021.