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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Ms Rech and the Secretary of the Department of Social Services concerning Ms Rech's eligibility for a supplementary payment of Family Tax Benefit (FTB). The dispute arose because Ms Rech and her partner failed to lodge their tax returns for the 2012/2013 financial year by the required date of 30 June 2014, which is a condition for receiving FTB supplements.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether "special circumstances" existed that would permit an extension of time for Ms Rech and her partner to lodge their tax returns. The legislation requires individuals to satisfy FTB reconciliation conditions, which generally involves lodging tax returns within a specified period, unless the Secretary is satisfied that special circumstances prevented timely lodgement. The Tribunal was required to interpret the meaning of "special circumstances" in this context and determine if the facts presented met that threshold.

The Tribunal reasoned that the term "special circumstances" implies conditions that are extraordinary, exceptional, or unusual, and not merely the ordinary course of events. While Ms Rech argued that she and her partner had provided their tax documents to their accountant well before the deadline and had taken reasonable steps to ensure timely lodgement, the Tribunal found that the failure to lodge was due to the accountant's oversight. The Tribunal noted that the accountant's personal circumstances, while unfortunate, did not constitute special circumstances preventing the Reches from lodging their returns. Crucially, the Tribunal highlighted that the Reches could have lodged the returns themselves once signed, and their reliance on the accountant to do so did not amount to special circumstances.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the previous decision and substituted it with a determination that Ms Rech was not entitled to the supplementary payment of Family Tax Benefit for the 2012/2013 financial year due to the failure to meet the tax return lodgement requirements.