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

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services affirming a determination that the applicant was not eligible for a disability support pension. The applicant sought review of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal's (AAT) previous decision, which had affirmed the Secretary's decision. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the statutory criteria for the pension.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant satisfied the qualification criteria for a disability support pension as set out in section 94(1) of the *Social Security Act 1991* (Cth). This involved assessing whether the applicant had a physical, intellectual, or psychiatric impairment during the qualification period, whether this impairment was fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised during that period, and whether it attracted an impairment rating of 20 points or more under Table 4 of the *Social Security (Tables for the Assessment of Work-related Impairment for Disability Support Pension) Determination 2011* (Cth). Additionally, the Tribunal had to consider whether the applicant had a continuing inability to work.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the interpretation and application of the relevant legislative provisions, particularly section 94(1) of the Act and the Impairment Tables. The Tribunal noted that an impairment rating could only be assigned if the condition causing the impairment was permanent and more likely than not to persist for more than two years, as per section 6(3) of the Impairment Tables. The assessment of functional capacity was to be based on what the person could do, not what they chose to do or what others did for them. The Tribunal's decision ultimately affirmed the previous decision, indicating that the applicant had not met the required criteria.