Skyring, A.G. v Social Security, Sec. to the Dept of

The case before the Federal Court of Australia involves an appeal by Alan George Skyring against a decision of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, which was subsequently reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The dispute centres on the Social Security Act 1947, with Skyring challenging the Department of Social Security's determination that he was ineligible for unemployment benefits due to his receipt of income from professional work. Skyring also seeks to contest the competency of the appeal on the basis that no legal question is involved and that any legal question is untenable. The court was required to determine whether Skyring's receipt of payments via cheque constituted a legal payment under the Currency Act 1965 and the Reserve Bank Act 1959, and whether these payments disqualified him from receiving unemployment benefits. The court also needed to decide if the appeal was competent and whether it should be dismissed on those grounds.

The court found that Skyring's arguments regarding the legality of payment by cheque were without merit. The cheques were cleared through the banking system, which is a well-established method of payment. The court noted that Australian notes are legal tender as per Section 36(1) of the Reserve Bank Act 1959, and this does not conflict with Section 16 of the Currency Act 1965, which deals with coins. Skyring's reliance on historical statutes and the Constitution was deemed irrelevant to the current legal framework. The court further determined that the Tribunal's finding that Skyring was not unemployed was supported by evidence and could not be successfully challenged on legal grounds. The court dismissed the appeal and declined to rule on the competency motion, ordering Skyring to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal. No costs were ordered on the competency motion.