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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by Mr. Payne for an extension of time to seek review of a decision concerning his claim for a disability support pension. Mr. Payne's initial claim was rejected by Services Australia on 5 August 2020, a decision affirmed by the Authorised Review Officer (ARO) on 1 October 2020. Mr. Payne then applied for a review with the AAT, which affirmed the ARO's decision on 19 January 2021. Mr. Payne subsequently lodged an application for review of this AAT decision with the present Tribunal on 1 April 2022, which included an application for an extension of time.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant Mr. Payne an extension of time under section 29(7) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth). This required the Tribunal to exercise its broad discretionary power, guided by established principles.

The Tribunal's reasoning was informed by the principles set out in *Hunter Valley Developments Pty Ltd v Cohen* and further elaborated in cases such as *Zizza v Federal Commissioner of Taxation* and *Brown v Commissioner of Taxation*. These principles require the Tribunal to consider various factors, including the length of the delay, the applicant's awareness of appeal rights and the explanation for the delay, the merits of the substantive application, any prejudice to the respondent, and whether granting an extension would be fair to other persons in a similar position. The Tribunal weighed these factors, noting a substantial delay of 408 days. After considering all the evidence and circumstances, the Tribunal concluded that the justice of the case did not warrant the exercise of its discretion.

Consequently, the Tribunal refused Mr. Payne's application for an extension of time to lodge his application for review of the AAT's decision dated 19 January 2021.