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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Owens against the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding the cancellation of his disability support pension. Mr Owens had travelled to Thailand on 24 March 2015 and returned on 13 November 2015, during which period his pension was suspended. The core of the dispute revolved around whether Mr Owens was entitled to an extended portability period for his pension during his absence from Australia.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Owens qualified for portability of his disability support pension for the period of 24 March 2015 to 13 November 2015, and whether Centrelink had correctly cancelled his pension. The legal issues centred on the interpretation of provisions within the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) concerning the portability of pensions during overseas absences, particularly whether Mr Owens' circumstances met the criteria for an extended or unlimited portability period.

The Tribunal found that Mr Owens' absence was due to legal proceedings in Thailand stemming from an assault incident in June 2014. While Mr Owens' passport was confiscated by Thai police, preventing his departure, and the legal proceedings ultimately cleared him of charges, the Tribunal determined that his situation did not meet the requirements for unlimited portability under section 1218AAA or section 1218C of the Act, as the event requiring his travel occurred prior to his departure and he had not sought indefinite portability beforehand. However, the Tribunal was satisfied that the legal proceedings constituted a "humanitarian purpose" as defined in section 1212B of the Act, entitling him to the maximum portability period of 28 days. Consequently, the Tribunal varied the decision, granting Mr Owens portability for the period of 24 March 2015 to 21 April 2015, but upheld the cancellation of his pension for the remainder of his absence.