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

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Torpy against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding the calculation and application of an income maintenance period (IMP) to his Newstart Allowance payments. The dispute centred on whether the duration and dates of the IMP were correctly determined, and whether the IMP should be reduced due to Mr Torpy experiencing severe financial hardship from unavoidable or reasonable expenditure. The case was heard by Mr Conrad Ermert, a Member of the Tribunal.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were threefold: first, whether the duration of the IMP was correctly calculated; second, whether the commencement and end dates of the IMP were accurately determined; and third, whether the IMP could be reduced on the grounds of severe financial hardship arising from unavoidable or reasonable expenditure incurred by Mr Torpy. Mr Torpy presented evidence of various expenses, including dental and veterinary services, a dog purchase, job-related travel and clothing, and compulsory job training costs, arguing they were unavoidable or reasonable.

The Tribunal considered the relevant provisions of the Act concerning the calculation of Newstart Allowance and IMPs. It found that the duration of Mr Torpy's IMP was correctly calculated as 41 weeks, by adding the periods for redundancy (20 weeks), annual leave (11 weeks), and long service leave (10 weeks), as provided by subsection 1068-G7AJ. The Tribunal also accepted the concession by the Respondent that the initial dates were incorrect and substituted them with a commencement date of 24 September 2015, aligning with when the termination payment was made as per subsection 1068-G7AKA, and an end date of 6 July 2016, based on the 41-week duration. Crucially, applying subsection 1068-G7AM, the Tribunal determined that a portion of the IMP, from 7 April 2016 to 6 July 2016, should not apply to Mr Torpy due to severe financial hardship caused by unavoidable and reasonable expenditure.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the matter to the Respondent to recalculate Mr Torpy's Newstart Allowance payments, reflecting the corrected IMP start date and the exclusion of the IMP for the period of 7 April 2016 to 6 July 2016 on the grounds of severe financial hardship.