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

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms Saba against a decision affirming the denial of her claim for Newstart Allowance. The dispute centred on whether Ms Saba met the residence requirements for the allowance during the relevant qualification period. The decision was made by Dr I Alexander, a Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms Saba was an "Australian resident" for the purposes of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* during the qualification period, which was from 8 November 2016 to 7 February 2017. While Ms Saba was an Australian citizen, the Tribunal was required to determine if she was "residing in Australia" as defined by section 7 of the Act.

The Tribunal considered various factors outlined in section 7(3) of the Act. Evidence indicated that Ms Saba had travelled to Lebanon frequently since 2007 and had spent considerable time living there, particularly since her marriage in 2010. During the qualification period, she was in Australia, but her accommodation was dependent on her son, and she had no other means of support or assets in Australia. Her financial and employment ties were with Lebanon, where she lived with her husband. Despite her stated intention to live permanently in Australia, her husband's unwillingness to relocate and the lack of clear reasons for this reluctance were noted. The Tribunal found that the nature and extent of her accommodation, family relationships, employment, financial ties, assets, and travel patterns indicated that she was not residing in Australia for the purposes of the Act during the qualification period.

Consequently, the Tribunal was not persuaded that Ms Saba was residing in Australia during the qualification period and therefore did not meet the requirements for Newstart Allowance. The decision under review was affirmed.