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

This matter concerned an appeal by Miss Noble against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services to cancel her Austudy payment. The dispute centred on whether Miss Noble had exceeded her "allowable study time" for Austudy purposes, which would render her ineligible for the payment. The case was heard by D. J. Morris, Member, of the Social Services and Child Support Division of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the correct calculation of Miss Noble's "allowable study time" under section 569H of the relevant Act. This involved considering whether her previous Bachelor of Forensics/Molecular Biology/Biomedical Science degree from Murdoch University qualified as a "prerequisite course" under section 569H(7)(a), the completion of which should be disregarded when calculating her study time for the Bachelor of Pharmacy course at Curtin University. The Tribunal also had to consider a prior administrative decision to disregard study time in Semester 1, 2014, due to circumstances beyond Miss Noble's control.

The Tribunal reasoned that for the Murdoch University degree to be considered a prerequisite course under section 569H(7)(a), its completion must be a normal requirement for admission to the Pharmacy course. Miss Noble contended that her previous degree provided her with the necessary entrance score for the Pharmacy course, and she did not otherwise meet the required ATAR. However, the Tribunal noted that Miss Noble had received exemptions from three subjects in the Pharmacy course based on recognition of prior learning from her Murdoch degree. The Tribunal found that the Bachelor of Pharmacy course was at the same academic level as her previous bachelor degree. Applying sections 569H(1) and 569H(7) of the Act, and considering the prior decision to disregard Semester 1, 2014, the Tribunal concluded that Miss Noble had exceeded her allowable study time at the end of Semester 1, 2013.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Social Services and Child Support Division of 6 November 2015, finding that Miss Noble was not eligible for Austudy payment on 1 December 2014.