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

This matter concerned a second tier review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) of a decision to refuse a disability support pension (DSP) to the applicant, Mr Vasiliadis. The applicant claimed his various medical conditions, including osteoarthritis of the bilateral knees and feet, posterior vitreous detachment, GORD, anxiety, left frozen shoulder, and the effects of a haemorrhoidectomy, rendered him unable to work. The core dispute revolved around whether these conditions were sufficiently diagnosed, treated, stabilised, and likely to persist for at least two years, and whether they attracted an impairment rating of 20 points or more under the relevant Impairment Tables.

The AAT was required to determine the appropriate impairment rating for each of the applicant's claimed conditions, applying the criteria set out in the Social Security (Tables for the Assessment of Work-related Impairment for Disability Support Pension) Determination 2011. A crucial threshold for assigning an impairment rating was the requirement that the condition causing the impairment must have been permanent during the qualification period, meaning it was fully diagnosed, fully treated, and fully stabilised, with a prognosis of persisting for more than two years. The qualification period for the applicant's DSP claim was from 17 July 2018 to 16 October 2018.

The Tribunal considered the evidence presented, including medical reports and the applicant's own testimony regarding his functional limitations. For osteoarthritis of the bilateral knees and feet, the respondent accepted it was fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised during the qualification period and could attract a 5-point rating. The applicant described his mobility limitations, including pain when walking, reliance on a walking stick, difficulty with stairs due to fear of falling, and inability to board buses, though he could drive and attend to personal needs. The Tribunal was satisfied that the osteoarthritis of the knees and feet met the criteria for being fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilised.

Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the previous decisions to refuse the DSP. While acknowledging the applicant's osteoarthritis of the bilateral knees and feet was diagnosed, treated, and stabilised during the qualification period, the evidence did not demonstrate that the impairments arising from this or any other claimed condition reached the threshold of 20 points or more required for a DSP qualification.