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

This matter concerned a review of decisions made by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding the Respondent's eligibility for jobseeker and parenting payments. The dispute centred on the correct calculation of an income maintenance period for the jobseeker payment and the Respondent's residential qualification for the parenting payment, specifically whether she held protected Special Category Visa holder status. The review was heard by Mrs J C Kelly, Senior Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the income maintenance period for the Respondent's jobseeker payment had been correctly calculated, and whether the Respondent was residentially qualified to receive a parenting payment. This latter question involved assessing whether the Respondent was a protected Special Category Visa holder.

The Senior Member found that the immigration records before the Tribunal were accurate and established that the Respondent had been present in Australia for 255 days between 25 February 1999 and 25 February 2001. As she had not been in Australia for a cumulative period exceeding 12 months during the two years immediately prior to 26 February 2001, she did not satisfy section 7(2A)(b) of the relevant Act. Consequently, her claim for parenting payment made on 15 July 2019 was correctly rejected due to a lack of residential qualification.

In relation to the jobseeker payment, the reviewable decision was set aside, and it was substituted with a decision that the Respondent's start date for the jobseeker payment was 8 October 2020. For the parenting payment, the reviewable decision was also set aside, with a substituted decision confirming that her claim of 15 July 2019 was correctly rejected as she was not residentially qualified.