Petrickovic and Secretary, Department of Health (Social services)

This matter concerned an appeal by the Applicant, Mr Ivan Petrickovic, against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Health regarding the assessment of his property as an asset for aged care purposes. The central dispute revolved around whether the Applicant was considered a member of a couple at the relevant time, which would impact the exemption of his home from asset assessment under the Aged Care Act. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine the Applicant's relationship status for the purposes of this assessment.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the Applicant and his wife, Mrs Bogdanka Petrickovic, were members of a couple, and consequently, whether their family home in Bayswater was correctly assessed as a non-exempt asset for the Applicant's aged care fees. The Respondent contended that the Applicant was not a member of a couple, and therefore, the property should be included in the asset assessment. The Applicant, through his son, argued that he and his wife had been separated for many years and were not living as a couple.

The Tribunal considered a range of evidence, including departmental records, statutory declarations from the Applicant's son, and letters from aged care facilities. While acknowledging inconsistencies in the evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that at the time of the decision under review, the Applicant and Mrs Petrickovic were members of a couple. The Tribunal found that the Applicant lived separately in a residential aged care facility due to illness, while Mrs Petrickovic continued to reside in the family home. Based on these findings, the Tribunal concluded that the Bayswater property was exempt from asset assessment for aged care purposes.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the original decision and substituted it with a decision that the Applicant was a member of a couple and that the Bayswater property was exempt from the asset assessment for Aged Care purposes.