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

This matter concerned an appeal by WZGY and CSYM (the applicants) against a decision by the Department of Social Services to cancel their social security payments and raise a debt owed to the Commonwealth. The dispute centred on the beneficial ownership of a Gold Coast unit, which had been sold, and whether the proceeds of sale had been improperly deprived of by the applicants. The case was heard by Emeritus Professor P A Fairall.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether CSYM was the beneficial owner of the Gold Coast unit at the relevant times, and consequently, whether the applicants had deprived themselves of an asset by disposing of the unit and distributing its proceeds. This involved determining if the unit was held in trust for others, and if the applicants had acted disingenuously in their claims for social security payments by failing to disclose the asset and its disposal.

The court affirmed previous decisions by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which had consistently found that CSYM was the beneficial owner of the Gold Coast unit and that it was not held in trust for any other party. The court found that the applicants had not presented new evidence to challenge these prior determinations. The applicants' assertions that the unit "no longer existed" and that they had not gifted property in the preceding five years were found to be disingenuous, particularly in light of the disbursements made from the sale proceeds to their adult children. The court concluded that the unit should have been taken into account when assessing their social security entitlements.

The court was satisfied that the negotiated settlement sum for the debts owed to the Commonwealth had been fully paid, as verified by Centrelink. Accordingly, the first-level review decision of the Tribunal was affirmed.