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

This matter concerned an application for an extension of time by Ms. Rahimzadeh, the applicant, against the Secretary of the Department of Social Services. The dispute centred on whether Ms. Rahimzadeh should be granted an extension of time to pursue her substantive application for a disability support pension. The decision was made by Dr. L Bygrave, a Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to grant Ms. Rahimzadeh an extension of time to file her substantive application. This required the Tribunal to consider the principles governing extensions of time, including the applicant's conduct, any prejudice to the respondent caused by the delay, and the prospects of success of the underlying application. A key element of this assessment was the definition of "permanent" for the purposes of an impairment rating, which requires a medical condition to be fully diagnosed, fully treated, fully stabilised, and likely to persist for more than two years.

The Tribunal reasoned that an extension of time should not be granted because Ms. Rahimzadeh's medical conditions were not fully treated and fully stabilised during the relevant claim period. The Tribunal considered reports indicating that her depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder were not fully treated, her chronic neck and back pain had recommended surgery, and her bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome was awaiting surgery. Consequently, the Tribunal found that her substantive application had limited prospects of success. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that most of the additional medical evidence provided was dated more than 12 months after the claim period, thus carrying limited weight for the current application, although it could be used for a new claim.

The Tribunal concluded that, in all the circumstances, it was not reasonable to grant the extension of time. Accordingly, the application for an extension of time was refused.