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

This matter concerned an appeal by the Applicant against a decision regarding her claim for paid parental leave pay. The dispute centred on whether the Applicant had provided sufficient proof of her daughter's birth registration to Centrelink prior to a specified date. The case was heard by A Poljak SM.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine whether the Applicant had effectively verified her child's birth for the purposes of claiming paid parental leave pay, specifically whether she had provided proof of the registration of her daughter's birth to Centrelink by 10 April 2018. This involved considering the requirements for birth verification under the Paid Parental Leave Guide and assessing the Applicant's actions and evidence in light of those requirements.

The court found the Applicant to be a truthful and candid witness. It was established that the Applicant completed a Newborn Child Declaration form shortly after her daughter's birth, and that her daughter's birth was registered on 27 November 2017. Despite Centrelink records not showing a copy of the birth certificate on file from that date, the court was satisfied, based on the Applicant's consistent account and supporting evidence, that she had provided proof of registration to Centrelink on 28 November 2017. The court applied the principle that birth verification is a prerequisite for paid parental leave pay and concluded that the Applicant had met this requirement.

The decision under review was set aside and remitted with a direction that proof of the registration of the Applicant's daughter's birth, in the form of a New South Wales Birth Certificate dated 27 November 2017, was provided to Centrelink on 28 November 2017.