Steley and Principal Member of the Veterans' Review Board (Veterans' entitlements)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Steley for review of a decision by the Repatriation Commission regarding his disability pension rate. The Commission had continued his pension at 100 per cent of the general rate but refused his claim for an intermediate or special rate pension. Mr Steley sought a review of this decision by the Veterans' Review Board, which dismissed his application as being out of time. Mr Steley then sought review by the Tribunal, which considered the matter at an interlocutory hearing.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Steley had applied for a review within the prescribed three-month period following notification of the Commission's decision, and if not, whether the Veterans' Review Board had any discretion under the relevant enactment to extend that time limit. The Tribunal was also required to determine if there was any reasonable prospect of success on a review of the reviewable decision, given the time limitations.

The Tribunal reasoned that Mr Steley had not applied for a review within the three-month period stipulated by the legislation. It further found that the relevant enactment did not grant the Veterans' Review Board any discretion to extend this time limit. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that there was no prospect of success for Mr Steley's application for review of the Commission's decision. The Tribunal applied the principle that a matter should be dismissed where there is no reasonable prospect of success, noting that such power should be exercised with caution, but that in this specific case, the statutory provisions rendered the application futile.

The Tribunal dismissed Mr Steley's application, finding that it had no reasonable prospect of success due to the failure to lodge the review application within the statutory timeframe and the absence of any power to extend that time.