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

This matter concerned an application by VQSL for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for the 2012-2013 financial year. The dispute arose because VQSL lodged her claim significantly after the legislated deadline. The Secretary of the Department of Social Services had a discretion to accept late claims if satisfied that special circumstances prevented the claimant from lodging on time, but this discretion was limited to a specific period. The case came before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) on an interlocutory hearing concerning an application for dismissal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether VQSL's FTB claim for the 2012-2013 financial year could be accepted out of time, notwithstanding the existence of special circumstances. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the discretion to accept late claims under section 10(2)(b)(ii) of the *A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999* (FAA Act) could be exercised in VQSL's favour, given the timing of her lodgement and the limitations imposed by section 10(2A) of the FAA Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that while section 10(2)(b)(ii) of the FAA Act grants the Secretary a discretion to accept late FTB claims due to special circumstances, section 10(2A) unequivocally limits the exercise of this discretion to a twelve-month period, commencing from the beginning of the second year after the end of the relevant financial year and concluding at the end of that second year. In this instance, the relevant financial year was 2012-2013, meaning the discretion could only be exercised between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2015. As VQSL lodged her claim on 15 July 2015, which fell outside this prescribed period, the Tribunal, standing in the shoes of the Secretary, concluded that it had no power to extend the lodgement period, regardless of the compelling nature of the special circumstances presented.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that VQSL's application had no reasonable prospects of success. The respondent's application for dismissal was therefore successful, and the Tribunal dismissed VQSL's application for review pursuant to section 42B of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975*.