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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Simmons and the Secretary, Department of Social Services concerning the applicant's eligibility for a Disability Support Pension (DSP). The central dispute revolved around whether the applicant's income protection insurance payments constituted "compensation" under the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth) and, if so, whether "special circumstances" existed to justify treating these payments as not having been made.

The AAT was required to determine two key legal issues. Firstly, whether the applicant's income protection insurance payments fell within the definition of "compensation" as defined in section 17(2)(d) of the Act, particularly considering they were made in respect of lost earnings. Secondly, the Tribunal had to assess whether any "special circumstances" were present, pursuant to section 1184K of the Act, that would permit the payments to be disregarded for the purposes of calculating the DSP rate.

The Tribunal reasoned that the income protection insurance payments were made in respect of lost earnings resulting from personal injury, thus satisfying the definition of compensation under section 17(2)(d). Furthermore, the Tribunal found no evidence of special circumstances that would warrant the exercise of discretion under section 1184K. Consequently, the AAT affirmed the previous decision of the Tribunal dated 4 November 2020.