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

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Pratap, against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding an overpayment of a disability support pension. The core dispute revolved around the recovery of a debt arising from the applicant's assets, specifically concerning properties she had disposed of or gifted. The case was heard by Dr L Bygrave, a Member of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the applicant had disposed of or gifted the value of the Cooper Avenue and Watanobbi properties, and if so, to ascertain the value of these gifted assets. Secondly, the Tribunal had to decide whether the applicant owed a debt for the disability support pension and, if a debt was found to exist, whether there were any grounds to write off or waive that debt.

In addressing the first issue, the Tribunal considered the sale of the Cooper Avenue property to the applicant's son for $100. While the applicant and her son disputed the property's value, the Tribunal found the son's stated valuation of $105,000 to be unpersuasive as it represented the "dutiable amount" for stamp duty purposes, not an independent valuation. Instead, the Tribunal relied on a valuation by MVS, which assessed the property's market value at $380,000 as of the date of transfer in 2014. The Tribunal was satisfied this valuation accurately reflected the property's historical worth. The Tribunal noted that amounts disposed of in excess of the "disposal free limit" are considered "deprived assets" and are assessable under the assets test for a period of five years.

Ultimately, the Tribunal found no "special circumstances" that would justify waiving the applicant's debt. The applicant owned an unencumbered property valued at $144,000, which she could sell to repay the debt and support herself. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding no grounds to waive the debt.