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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the appeal of an applicant seeking a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The applicant had lodged multiple claims for DSP between August 2017 and December 2020, all of which were rejected by the Department of Social Services (DSS) on the basis that his claimed impairments did not attract an impairment rating of 20 points or more under the relevant Impairment Tables. The AAT was required to review the DSS decisions.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant’s claimed conditions were fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised (FDTS) at the relevant dates of his claims, and consequently, whether these impairments attracted an impairment rating of 20 points or more under the Social Security (Tables for the assessment of Work-related Impairment for Disability Support Pension) Determination 2011. The Tribunal also needed to consider the applicant's participation in a Program of Support (POS) for the required 18 months, as this was a prerequisite for receiving a DSP unless an exemption applied.

The Tribunal reasoned that for an impairment to attract an impairment rating, it must first be fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised. The Tribunal found that while some of the applicant's conditions, such as Traumatic Brain Injury and osteoarthritis, were fully diagnosed, they were not fully treated or stabilised. Other claimed conditions were found not to be fully diagnosed. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that none of the applicant's claimed conditions could attract an impairment rating. Furthermore, the applicant had not participated in a POS for the required 18 months, nor was there evidence of any exemption.

The Tribunal affirmed the decisions of the Authorised Review Officer (ARO), finding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for a DSP because his impairments did not attract the requisite impairment rating, and he had not met the POS requirements.