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

This matter concerned an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal regarding the assessment of Mr and Mrs Unver's eligibility for the age pension. The core dispute revolved around whether they should be considered a "couple" for the purposes of calculating their pension entitlements, or if they qualified as an "illness separated couple" or if there were special reasons to treat them as not being a couple.

The Tribunal was required to determine three key issues: first, whether Mr and Mrs Unver met the criteria for being a "couple" under the relevant Act; second, whether they constituted an "illness separated couple" as defined by the Act; and third, whether there were any special reasons, pursuant to section 24 of the Act, not to treat them as a couple from 17 July 2019.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal considered the long duration of their marriage (60 years) and Mrs Unver's stated intention not to formally separate or divorce, which weighed heavily in favour of them being considered a couple. Regarding the "illness separated couple" claim, the Tribunal found a lack of objective evidence to support the assertion that Mr Unver's living arrangements in Turkey were due to illness or infirmity preventing them from living together. The Tribunal noted that while Mr Unver could access medical treatment in Australia, he had chosen to reside in Turkey for his own reasons. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that Mr and Mrs Unver were members of a couple and affirmed the decision under review.