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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute concerning a claim for a disability support pension (DSP) made by the applicant, Ms. Saric, against the Secretary of the Department of Social Services. The core of the dispute revolved around whether Ms. Saric met the legislative requirements for a DSP, specifically concerning the qualification period and the assessment of her medical conditions.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, it needed to ascertain the relevant qualification period for assessing Ms. Saric's eligibility for the DSP, which involved considering the date of her claim and the subsequent 13-week period thereafter. Secondly, the Tribunal had to determine whether Ms. Saric's medical conditions were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised within this qualification period, and if these conditions attracted the requisite points under the relevant impairment tables to qualify for a DSP.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal applied the principles established in cases such as *Swanson* and *Bobera*, which dictate that a claim for DSP must be assessed based on the applicant's medical condition as it existed at the date of claim or within the subsequent 13-week qualification period. The Tribunal noted that evidence of deterioration in the applicant's condition after this period, as indicated by a later medical assessment and joint case assessment, was not grounds to award a DSP based on those changed circumstances. The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.