MANKEY v COMMISSIONER FOR SOCIAL HOUSING (Administrative Review)

In the case of Mankey v Commissioner for Social Housing (Administrative Review), the applicant sought a review of a decision made by the Commissioner for Social Housing, rejecting the applicant's request for a second-level review of a rent rebate assessment. The applicant argued that the Commissioner's decision to reject the second-level review was incorrect as the second-level reviewer had recommended that the applicant's appeal be upheld. The applicant also claimed that the decision was made out of time, and that the Commissioner should have exercised his discretion to grant the application under exceptional circumstances.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the Commissioner's decision to reject the second-level review was correct and whether the Commissioner had exercised his discretion to grant the application under exceptional circumstances. The court considered the relevant legislation, including the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2008, the Housing Assistance Act 1991, and the Housing Assistance Public Rental Housing Assistance Program 2008 (No. 1). The court also considered the Information Privacy Principles and the Freedom of Information Act 1989.

The court found that the Commissioner's decision to reject the second-level review was incorrect, as the second-level reviewer had recommended that the applicant's appeal be upheld. The court also found that the Commissioner had not exercised his discretion to grant the application under exceptional circumstances, as the applicant had not demonstrated any exceptional circumstances that would warrant the grant of the application. However, the court found that the application was not made out of time, as the applicant had demonstrated that there were exceptional circumstances that prevented her from making the application within the relevant time period.

Ultimately, the court found in favour of the applicant and set aside the Commissioner's decision to reject the second-level review. The court substituted the decision with one that granted the applicant a rent rebate for the period 1 November 2009 to 29 March 2011, assessed at $23,306.57. The court also ordered that the rent rebate be backdated to 1 November 2009.