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

The applicant, Mihalopoulos, sought an extension of time to appeal a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding a disability support pension. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the application for an extension of time.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to grant an extension of time for the applicant to lodge their appeal, given that the statutory 28-day period for lodging an appeal had elapsed. This required the Tribunal to assess whether the applicant had provided a reasonable explanation for the delay and whether there was a reasonable prospect of success in the substantive appeal.

The Tribunal reasoned that it was not in the interests of justice or public policy to grant the extension of time. This conclusion was based on the assessment that the applicant had not provided a sufficiently reasonable explanation for the delay and, importantly, that there was no reasonable prospect of the substantive appeal being successful. Consequently, the Tribunal refused the application for an extension of time.