Tran; Secretary, Department of Social Services and

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Tran against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his eligibility for a disability support pension. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Tran's medical conditions were fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised during the relevant assessment period, and whether his impairments attracted a sufficient number of points under the Impairment Tables to qualify for the pension.

The Tribunal considered evidence from Mr Tran, his wife, and a consultant psychiatrist, alongside numerous medical reports and Centrelink records. The legal issue was whether Mr Tran's combined impairments met the threshold of at least 20 points under the Impairment Tables, as required by section 94(1)(b) of the relevant Act, to establish his qualification for a disability support pension.

The Tribunal found that Mr Tran suffered from a range of conditions including depression, diabetes affecting his vision and mobility, gout, sleep apnoea, asthma, and long-standing swallowing difficulties for which no treatment was available. Despite these numerous health issues, the Tribunal concluded that the total impairment points attributed to Mr Tran amounted to 10. Consequently, he did not satisfy the requirement of having an impairment or combination of impairments attracting at least 20 points.

As Mr Tran did not meet the criteria under section 94(1)(b) of the Act, the Tribunal determined it was unnecessary to consider whether he had a continuing inability to work under section 94(1)(c). The Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a new decision stating that Mr Tran was not qualified for the disability support pension during the assessment period.