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

This matter concerned an application by Mr Psomadellis for an extension of time to seek a review of a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his disability support pension. The review was heard by Dr L Bygrave, a Member of the Tribunal. The core dispute revolved around whether Mr Psomadellis met the criteria for unlimited portability of his disability support pension.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Psomadellis was in receipt of a disability support pension, whether he suffered from a severe impairment that would persist for at least the next five years, and whether this impairment would prevent him from performing any work independently within that timeframe. The Tribunal also considered the relevant legislative provisions, including section 1218AAA of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) and the criteria for assigning impairment ratings under the *Social Security (Tables for the Assessment of Work-related Impairment for Disability Support Pension) Determination 2011*.

The Tribunal found that Mr Psomadellis was indeed receiving a disability support pension. Regarding his impairment, the Tribunal considered medical reports indicating he met the full diagnostic criteria for Persistent Depressive Disorder, experiencing symptoms for approximately eight years despite being on maximum dosage antidepressant medication. The Tribunal noted that a "severe impairment" is defined as an impairment assigned 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables, and that a condition is considered permanent if it is fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, and likely to persist for more than two years. Based on the evidence presented, the Tribunal was satisfied that Mr Psomadellis had a severe disability.

Ultimately, the Tribunal determined that it was reasonable in all the circumstances to grant Mr Psomadellis an extension of time to pursue his application for a review of the portability decision.