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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the eligibility of Ms Loureen Talya for a disability support pension. The dispute centred on whether Ms Talya's physical and psychiatric impairments met the threshold required for the pension under the relevant legislation.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Ms Talya suffered from any impairments, whether these impairments were fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised during the claim period (4 February 2016 to 5 May 2016), and if so, to rate each impairment under the Impairment Tables. Crucially, the Tribunal had to ascertain if the total rating of her impairments reached 20 points, which would then lead to a consideration of her continuing inability to work.

The Tribunal found that Ms Talya suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, vertigo, headaches, dizziness, and related head, neck, and back pain. However, the evidence, including a letter from a consultant psychiatrist dated 19 May 2016 and a letter from Dr Kumar dated 5 July 2017, indicated that her post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were not fully treated and stabilised during the claim period. The psychiatrist noted irregular compliance with prescribed medication and ongoing symptoms, while Dr Kumar's letter, written over a year after the claim period, showed that treatment for depression was still ongoing with a new medication regime being trialled. Consequently, the impairments could not be rated under the Impairment Tables for the purpose of determining eligibility for the disability support pension.

The decision under review, which affirmed that Ms Talya did not qualify for the disability support pension during the specified period, was affirmed by the Tribunal.