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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Ms Rich, who sought a review of the Secretary of the Department of Social Services' decision to refuse her claim for a Disability Support Pension (DSP). Ms Rich, aged 53, had multiple medical conditions and had previously worked as a disability support team leader before taking a redundancy package due to her struggles to meet work commitments. The core of the dispute revolved around whether her medical conditions met the eligibility criteria for a DSP, specifically concerning diagnosis, treatment, stabilisation, and the resulting inability to work.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Ms Rich's impairments were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised, and whether these impairments, when rated under the Impairment Tables, amounted to 20 points or more under a single heading. Crucially, the Tribunal also had to determine if Ms Rich had a continuing inability to work, as defined by the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth), which requires an impairment to be of itself sufficient to prevent the person from doing any work independently of a program of support within the next two years, or from undertaking training that would enable them to do so.

The Tribunal reasoned that Ms Rich satisfied the age and residency requirements for the DSP. It then examined the extensive medical evidence presented, which detailed a range of conditions including ulcerative colitis, ear issues, obesity, depression, anxiety, and joint pain. The Tribunal found that Ms Rich's various impairments, when assessed against the Impairment Tables, collectively met the threshold of 20 points or more under a single heading, thereby establishing a "severe impairment." Furthermore, the Tribunal concluded that her combined impairments were of themselves sufficient to prevent her from undertaking work for at least 15 hours per week, thus satisfying the "continuing inability to work" criterion.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the original decision and substituted it with a new decision finding that Ms Rich met the eligibility requirements of section 94 of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) and was qualified for the Disability Support Pension as of her claim date, 3 March 2021.