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

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) on first review. The applicant sought an extension of time to file their application for review.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it should exercise its discretion under section 29(7) of the relevant Act to grant an extension of time for the applicant to lodge their application for review. This required the Tribunal to consider factors such as the length of the delay, potential prejudice to the respondent, and the prospects of success of the proposed review.

The Tribunal acknowledged that the delay was not substantial and that the respondent was unlikely to suffer significant prejudice. However, the Tribunal found that the applicant had failed to provide any material or argument suggesting that a further review would yield a different outcome than the initial AAT decision. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it was not appropriate to exercise its discretion to extend the time. The Tribunal suggested that the applicant should instead obtain updated information regarding their disabilities and pursue a fresh application, which might then have realistic prospects of success.

The application for an extension of time was refused.