Young and Secretary, Department of Health (Social services)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute between Ms. Young and the Secretary of the Department of Health concerning an aged care combined income and assets assessment. Both parties agreed that a previous decision made on 26 July 2017 should be set aside and remitted to the Respondent for reconsideration.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the decision of 26 July 2017 should be set aside and remitted. A secondary issue arose regarding whether the Tribunal should make any directions or recommendations when remitting the matter, as neither party had expressly sought such relief.

The Tribunal was persuaded to set aside the previous decision due to substantial discrepancies in the applicant's net asset figures. The Respondent's submissions indicated a total net asset value of $381,208.86 for the 2015/16 financial year, a figure significantly lower than the $544,343 assessed in the 2017 decision. Furthermore, the Respondent acknowledged that the previous decision failed to account for deemed income. The Tribunal concluded that the 2017 decision was incorrect and that the law regarding the assessment of assets for aged care purposes had not been correctly applied. The Tribunal declined to make express findings or recommendations, as neither party had specifically requested them, and the Respondent had submitted that the matter should be remitted for its own reconsideration.