Lushchayev and Secretary, Department of Education, Skills and Employment

In *Lushchayev and Secretary, Department of Education, Skills and Employment*, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Mr Mark Philip Lushchayev for re-credit of a FEE-HELP debt. The dispute concerned whether Mr Lushchayev's circumstances qualified as "special circumstances" under the relevant legislation, entitling him to remission of his debt for certain units of study.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Lushchayev's circumstances, including studying overseas, temporary accommodation, and psychological stress, were beyond his control and whether their full impact occurred on or after the census date for the units of study. The central legal issue was whether these circumstances constituted "special circumstances" as defined by section 36-20(1)(d) of the *Higher Education Support Act 2003* (Cth).

The Tribunal reasoned that Mr Lushchayev had not met the requisite limbs of section 36-21 of the Act. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that special circumstances applied. The Tribunal found that Mr Lushchayev was therefore not entitled to have his FEE-HELP debt remitted. The Tribunal affirmed the reviewable decision of the Respondent, dated 22 December 2020.