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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mrs Sami against a decision of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) regarding her claim for a lump sum Family Tax Benefit. The core of the dispute was whether Mrs Sami had established "special circumstances" that would permit her claim for the 2012/13 income year to be accepted, notwithstanding that it was filed out of time. The decision was made by A Poljak SM.

The primary legal issue before the SM was to determine whether the applicant had demonstrated special circumstances that prevented her from lodging her Family Tax Benefit claim within the statutory time limit for the 2012/13 income year. This required an assessment of the cumulative impact of various serious circumstances experienced by the applicant.

The SM found that while individual circumstances might not have been considered unusual, the combination of several serious events experienced by Mrs Sami rendered her situation unique. The SM was satisfied that these special circumstances did indeed prevent the claimant from making her claim within the prescribed statutory period for the 2012/13 income year.

Consequently, the SM set aside the SSAT's decision and substituted a new decision. This substituted decision refused Mrs Sami’s claim for the lump sum Family Tax Benefit for the 2011/12 income year, but importantly, extended the time for her to lodge her Family Tax Benefit claim for the 2012/13 income year to 22 August 2014.