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

This matter concerned an application by Ms Ringham concerning the cancellation of her age pension and the calculation of an alleged overpayment. The dispute centred on whether the Ringham Family Trust was a designated private trust and whether Ms Ringham was an attributable stakeholder in that trust, which would affect the calculation of her pension entitlement. The court was required to determine the status of the trust, Ms Ringham's attribution percentage, the correctness of the overpaid amount, whether this constituted a debt to the Commonwealth, and if the pension suspension and cancellation were appropriate.

The court considered the provisions of the Social Security Act 1991, specifically sections relating to designated private trusts and attributable stakeholders. It examined the Trust Deed and subsequent deeds to ascertain Ms Ringham's roles and powers within the Ringham Family Trust. The court applied the Attribution Principles and the definitions of "control" and "associate" under the Act to determine if the trust qualified as a controlled private trust. Crucially, the court found that the house property, which was the subject of some contention, was solely owned by Ms Ringham and not an asset of the trust, as no evidence supported its transfer to the trust.

The court concluded that the Ringham Family Trust was a designated private trust and that Ms Ringham was an attributable stakeholder with a 100% attribution percentage for the trust's income. Consequently, the court found that Ms Ringham had been overpaid age pension in the amount of $52,505.66 for the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2015, and this amount was a recoverable debt. The suspension and cancellation of her age pension from 10 February 2017 were deemed correct. However, the matter was remitted to the Respondent for reconsideration regarding the attributable income for the financial years 2015/16 and 2016/17, and the applicant's entitlement and any overpayment for the period 1 July 2015 to 6 December 2016.