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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Marcos against the decision to reject his late application to join the Pension Bonus Scheme (PBS). The dispute arose because Centrelink had refused Mr Marcos's application due to a failure to respond to a prior request for information. Mr Marcos contended that he never received the notice from Centrelink regarding this request. The decision was reviewed by Professor McCallum.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether Mr Marcos was deemed to have received the notice sent by Centrelink on 26 June 2014, despite his assertion that he did not. This question was central to determining whether his subsequent application for review of the decision to refuse his PBS registration was out of time, as prescribed by the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth).

The court applied sections 237 of the Administration Act and subsection 23(12) of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth), along with section 29 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth). These provisions establish that if a notice of a decision is properly addressed, prepaid, and posted, it is taken to have been given to the recipient at the time it would ordinarily be delivered by post, even if the recipient claims not to have received it, unless the contrary is proven. The court found, based on the evidence presented, that the notice of 26 June 2014 was indeed sent to Mr Marcos's home address and was properly given to him in accordance with these legislative provisions. Consequently, the time limit for seeking review of that decision, which commenced on 27 June 2014 and expired on 26 September 2014, had passed.