Allowing Indigenous man early access to pension could have ‘enormous’ consequences, court hears

The Indigenous man had previously lodged a claim to receive the pension three years early but was rejected because he had not reached the pension age. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Allowing an Indigenous Australian man to access his aged pension early would lead to “enormous” consequences in other areas of the law, the federal court has heard.

The full federal court on Monday commenced hearings in a landmark case brought against the commonwealth by 65-year-old Wakka Wakka man, Uncle Dennis, who is seeking to access the pension three years early on the grounds that Indigenous Australians have a shorter average life expectancy than the non-Aboriginal population.