Re Covenden and Secretary, Department of Social Services

This matter concerned an appeal by Mrs Covenden against the Secretary of the Department of Social Services' refusal to grant her a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The dispute centred on whether Mrs Covenden met the legislative requirements for a DSP, specifically concerning the severity of her impairments during the relevant qualification period. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, presided over by Senior Member Chris Puplick AM, was tasked with determining the appeal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mrs Covenden's conditions were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, and whether these conditions resulted in an impairment rating of 20 points or more on the relevant Impairment Tables, as required by section 94(1) of the *Social Security Act*. The Tribunal also needed to consider the requirement of a continuing inability to work, although this became secondary to the assessment of impairment points.

The Tribunal reasoned that for conditions to be assigned an impairment rating under the Impairment Tables, they must first be fully diagnosed. Mrs Covenden's evidence indicated that her conditions had worsened significantly since the qualification period, and her ability to function during that period, while impaired, was substantially less than her current state. Crucially, her ability to travel overseas shortly after the qualification period suggested her impairment rating was below the 20-point threshold. As her conditions were not fully diagnosed during the qualification period, they could not be assigned the necessary impairment rating. Consequently, the Tribunal found that Mrs Covenden had an impairment rating of ten points, which was below the legislative requirement. The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the DSP.