Prahauser v Administrative Appeals Tribunal

Prahauser appealed against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirming a decision of the Department of Human Services (DHS) to refuse his application for a disability support pension. The applicant argued that the AAT had made an error of law in finding that his impairments did not total 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables during the assessment period and, if so, whether he had a continuing inability to work. The Federal Court found that the Tribunal had not erred in finding that there was insufficient evidence to rate the applicant's impairments at 10 points under the Impairment Tables. The Court found that the Tribunal had considered all the evidence before it and had made a decision which was open on the material before it. The Court found that the Tribunal had not erred in applying Table 4 of the Impairment Tables in assessing the applicant's spinal condition. The Court found that the Tribunal's assessment of the applicant's spinal condition as having "mild functional impact" on activities using hands or arms was open on the evidence before it. The Court found that the Tribunal's decision was not legally unreasonable and dismissed the appeal. The Court ordered that the applicant pay the costs of the Second Respondent.