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

This matter concerned an application for a Disability Support Pension (DSP) by Mrs Mubarak, with the Secretary of the Department of Social Services as the respondent. The case was heard by Professor R McCallum AO, a Member of the Tribunal. The central dispute revolved around whether Mrs Mubarak met the residency and disability requirements for the DSP at the relevant times.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were twofold: firstly, whether Mrs Mubarak satisfied the blindness provision under section 95(1)(a) of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) before or after she met the residency requirements for the DSP; and secondly, whether Mrs Mubarak manifested a continuing inability to work under section 94(1)(c)(i) of the Act before or after meeting those residency requirements. The critical date for meeting the residency requirements was identified as 19 June 2015, when Mrs Mubarak was granted a Subclass 100 permanent partner visa.

The Tribunal found that Mrs Mubarak did not satisfy the residency requirements for the DSP until 19 June 2015. However, the evidence indicated that her blindness, which rendered her legally blind, and her continuing inability to work, had manifested prior to this date. Medical evidence from 2009 suggested her vision was normal, but subsequent examinations in Australia revealed a rapid deterioration, with specialists confirming irreversible damage and legal blindness by 2012, and an inability to read since 2005/6. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mrs Mubarak did not meet the criteria for the DSP because her permanent blindness and continuing inability to work first manifested themselves before she fulfilled the residency requirements.

The Tribunal set aside the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal dated 8 March 2017 and substituted its own decision. The substituted decision was that Mrs Mubarak did not qualify for the Disability Support Pension because her permanent blindness and her continuing inability to work first manifested themselves before she was granted her permanent partner visa on 19 June 2015, the date on which she fulfilled the residency requirements.