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

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Mr Reihana, against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his eligibility for arrears of a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The dispute centred on whether the applicant had adequately notified Centrelink of a change in his circumstances, specifically the cessation of his paid employment, which could affect his DSP entitlement. The decision was made by J Sosso SM.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether the applicant had fulfilled his obligation to notify Centrelink of his cessation of employment in a timely manner, and consequently, whether he was entitled to arrears of DSP payments prior to the date he eventually informed Centrelink of this change. This involved assessing the credibility of the applicant's account of events against documentary evidence and his admitted awareness of inaccuracies in Centrelink's records.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's submission that he was unaware that the termination of his employment would impact his DSP, as he earned a small amount of money. However, the Tribunal found that the applicant had been aware of Centrelink's inaccurate recording of his employment status for two years between 2013 and 2015, yet took no steps to rectify it. The Tribunal noted that the applicant only became proactive in contacting Centrelink in 2015 due to investigations by New Zealand authorities for child support purposes, suggesting his actions were motivated by self-interest rather than a desire to comply with his obligations. The Tribunal found that the applicant did not notify Centrelink of his cessation of employment between December 2012 and June 2015.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the applicant was not entitled to arrears of DSP payments before 12 June 2015.