Sheehan and Secretary, Department of Jobs and Small Business (Social services second review)

This matter concerned an application for an extension of time to appeal a decision of the Secretary, Department of Jobs and Small Business, made by Dr L Bygrave, Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had committed a "no show no pay" failure under the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth) by failing to attend a required activity on 18 January 2018.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to grant the applicant an extension of time to appeal the Secretary's decision. This required the Tribunal to consider the principles governing extensions of time, including the reasonableness of the application in all the circumstances, whether the applicant had rested on his rights, and the merits of the substantive matter. The substantive matter itself involved determining whether the applicant had failed to participate in an activity mandated by his employment pathway plan on 18 January 2018, as defined by section 42C of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* (Cth).

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had not provided any objective evidence to support his claim of attendance at the required activity on 18 January 2018, despite his assertions and request for video surveillance. The evidence before the Tribunal, including the applicant's job plan and a participation report from the employment services provider, indicated non-attendance. The Tribunal concluded that, based on the available evidence, the substantive matter had no likely prospect of success. This lack of merit, coupled with the absence of corroborating evidence from the applicant, led the Tribunal to find that it was not reasonable in the circumstances to grant the extension of time.

Consequently, the application for an extension of time was refused.