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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Shehata against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his claim for Disability Support Pension (DSP). The dispute centred on whether Mr Shehata met the eligibility requirements for DSP at the time of his claim and during the subsequent 13-week qualification period. The case was heard by Member K. Parker.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were to determine the date on which Mr Shehata's DSP claim was made, and to assess whether he met the legislative requirements for DSP eligibility during the relevant qualification period. This involved considering whether his medical conditions were fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised, and whether they were permanent, attracting the necessary impairment points under the relevant Impairment Tables.

The Tribunal applied section 13(1) of the *Social Security (Administration) Act 1999* to establish the claim date as 4 September 2015, based on Mr Shehata's initial contact with Centrelink. It then applied the principle, as observed in *Harris v Secretary, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations* and approved in *Gallacher v Secretary, Department of Social Services*, that entitlement must be considered as at the claim date and the following 13 weeks, with subsequent changes in health being irrelevant unless they shed light on the position at the relevant time. The Tribunal also adopted the approach outlined in *Negri v Secretary, Department of Social Services* regarding the application of Impairment Tables, emphasising the need to assess the functional impact of an impairment by reference to the particular examples within descriptors, rather than treating each descriptor as a condition of eligibility.

Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that while Mr Shehata had permanent impairments arising from ischemic heart disease with angina and spinal issues, these conditions did not attract the required 20 impairment points. Other claimed conditions, such as osteoarthritis to the knee, varicose veins, and left shoulder tendonitis, were not considered permanent as they were not fully treated and stabilised during the qualification period. Consequently, Mr Shehata did not meet the mandatory eligibility requirements for DSP.