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

This matter concerned an appeal by Tony Perosh against a decision of the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding the payment of his age pension. Mr Perosh had his age pension reduced due to an error by his solicitors, which resulted in him being deemed to have gifted a portion of his newly purchased residence to his sons. While the error was subsequently corrected, a dispute arose as to whether Mr Perosh was entitled to arrears of the full age pension from the date of the initial reduction or only from the date the Department was notified of the correction. The case was heard by Mr S Evans, a Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Perosh was entitled to receive arrears of his age pension from the date his pension was initially reduced in July 2015, or from the later date of 15 September 2016, when the Department was notified of the corrected property title. This involved determining the application of section 110 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) in relation to the timing of notification of changes in asset ownership for the purpose of calculating pension entitlements.

The Tribunal acknowledged Mr Perosh's understandable grievance regarding the circumstances that led to the reduction in his age pension and the associated stress and financial impact. However, the Tribunal found that the law was clear: entitlement to a higher rate of pension could only commence from the date the relevant authority, Services Australia, was notified of the corrected circumstances. Despite the initial error being beyond Mr Perosh's direct control, the legal principle required notification to trigger the reassessment and payment of arrears. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.