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

This matter concerned an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding the cancellation of the applicant's Parenting Payment Single (PPS) and Family Tax Benefit (FTB). The applicant had departed Australia with her two children on 12 April 2017 and remained absent for approximately two years and five months. Her payments were cancelled on 24 May 2017 when her portability period ended, as she had been absent for longer than the maximum six-week period without an extension. The applicant sought an extension of her portability period, citing serious illness and mental health issues as reasons for her inability to return to Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's portability period for PPS and FTB should be extended. This required determining if the applicant was unable to return to Australia due to circumstances that met the criteria for an extension under the relevant provisions of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) and the *A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999* (Cth). Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider if the applicant's absence was caused by a serious illness or hospitalisation, as stipulated in section 1218C of the *Social Security Act 1991*.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's oral evidence detailing her departure from Australia due to threats of violence from her ex-husband and her subsequent mental health struggles and depression. While the applicant had sought medical help and was diagnosed with depression, the initial decision to deny an extension was based on a lack of evidence from a Zimbabwe hospital indicating that an unforeseen illness prevented her return. However, the Tribunal found that the applicant's evidence, including her testimony about her deteriorating health and hospitalisation in Zimbabwe, coupled with the context of her fleeing an abusive relationship, satisfied the criteria for extending the portability period. The Tribunal applied the principles of statutory interpretation and the guidance provided in the *Guide to the Social Security Law*, concluding that the applicant's circumstances warranted an extension.

The Tribunal set aside the previous decision and substituted it with a new decision to extend the applicant's portability period. Consequently, the cancellation of her PPS and FTB was deemed to be in error, and the applicant was entitled to have these payments reinstated from the date of cancellation.