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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the eligibility of an applicant for the Pensioner Education Supplement (PES). The applicant, a young person with significant disabilities, had previously received PES for study at Castlereagh School. Following a transfer to Rocky Bay Inc., a registered training organisation, the applicant enrolled in an Award Scheme Development Accreditation Network (ASDAN) course. The Department of Human Services had cancelled the applicant's PES, a decision affirmed by an Authorised Review Officer, on the basis that the ASDAN course was not approved. While the Tribunal had previously determined the ASDAN course to be approved, a subsequent decision by Centrelink to cancel the PES was again reviewed.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the qualification criteria for the PES as at 6 February 2019, specifically whether he was undertaking "qualifying study" under subsection 1061PA(a) of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth). This required determining if the applicant was a full-time student or a concessional study-load student under subsection 1061PB(1)(c) of the Act. The applicant's eligibility as a concessional study load student hinged on undertaking at least 25% of a full-time study load in an approved course.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the ASDAN course was approved, the applicant's study load did not meet the threshold for PES eligibility. The Western Australian Education Department's policy, particularly regarding Individual Education Plans for special needs students, allowed for the definition of full-time study. In the applicant's case, his Individual Education Plan, endorsed by the Education Department, determined his full-time study capability to be 2 hours per week, equating to one module of the ASDAN SEND program per year. This was considered his assessed ability to complete the course. The Tribunal noted that subsection 1061PF(1)(b) of the Act permits an institution to define the amount of full-time study for a course. However, the applicant's enrolment of one module per year, while potentially meeting the requirements of his Individual Education Plan and the WACE certification over a lifetime, did not equate to the minimum 30% study load (3 modules per year) required to qualify for PES as a concessional study load student.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant was not a full-time student or a concessional student for the purposes of the Act. The decision of the Authorised Review Officer dated 14 May 2019 to cancel the applicant's Pensioner Education Supplement was affirmed.