Post by Banjo on Dec 10, 2010 12:25:56 GMT 7
Quality of Centrelink decisions under attack
as review tribunal cuts costs.
A report in The Australian today which exposed the poor quality of Centrelink’s decision making and its failure to provide clear and legally sound explanations for its decisions demands action from the Minister for Human Services and the CEO of Centrelink, said Maree O’Halloran, President of the National Welfare Rights Network.
This issue is made even more urgent by cost-cutting moves at the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT). This Tribunal hears the appeals from people unhappy with Centrelink’s decisions and it is often able to rectify the poor decisions made by Centrelink. For those people who make it to this level of appeal, it is sometimes the first time that the facts of the case are discovered and the evidence weighed properly. The Tribunal is moving quickly from multi-member panels to single member panels which will reduce the potential for fair outcomes for individuals trying to appeal against a government decision.
What happens at the SSAT currently?
In 2009-10, the SSAT received 11,203 applications for review, and almost a third of finalised decisions, 32.8 per cent (excluding those withdrawn, dismissed or not reviewable), were overturned.
More than 1 in 2 of the Centrelink decisions changed by the SSAT occurred because the agency got its facts wrong or did not understand the legislation underpinning entitlements worth billions.
The former head of the SSAT has estimated that 10 per cent of Centrelink appeals to the SSAT are initiated by a desire to receive clear, comprehensive reasons as to why a particular decision has been made. Nine out of every 10 decisions changed involved situations where Centrelink made an error of fact (31.8%), incorrectly applied the legislation (13.3%) or the Tribunal uncovered new information and Centrelink failed to interpret the facts and properly collect and assess relevant information about a person’s circumstances (45.6%).
These results highlight the critical importance of the independent review processes of the SSAT. Welfare Rights is concerned that the quality of Centrelink decisions under review will be further undermined by a plan to move to mainly single-member panels from February 2011. The loss of multi member SSAT hearings will result in reduced quality of decision-making for social security recipients appealing Centrelink decisions to the tribunal.
Historically, SSAT panels have comprised members with a mix of expertise, from welfare, legal and government backgrounds. This provided a diversity of perspective and expertise to be brought to bear in the decision making process.
Welfare Rights was reassured in March 2010 by the former Executive Director of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal that single member panels would only be constituted in emergency cases. We urge the Government to oppose any moves that could result in very unfair outcomes for people seeking access to justice.
Plan to improve the system
The poor quality of Centrelink reviews is placing a massive strain on the system. The government needs to:
• provide better resourcing for appeals within Centrelink and at the SSAT
• improve training for Centrelink staff who work in a challenging environment with insufficient resources
• help increase the number of independent welfare rights advocates across Australia to help people deal with Centrelink problems.
www.welfarerights.org.au/default.aspx
as review tribunal cuts costs.
A report in The Australian today which exposed the poor quality of Centrelink’s decision making and its failure to provide clear and legally sound explanations for its decisions demands action from the Minister for Human Services and the CEO of Centrelink, said Maree O’Halloran, President of the National Welfare Rights Network.
This issue is made even more urgent by cost-cutting moves at the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT). This Tribunal hears the appeals from people unhappy with Centrelink’s decisions and it is often able to rectify the poor decisions made by Centrelink. For those people who make it to this level of appeal, it is sometimes the first time that the facts of the case are discovered and the evidence weighed properly. The Tribunal is moving quickly from multi-member panels to single member panels which will reduce the potential for fair outcomes for individuals trying to appeal against a government decision.
What happens at the SSAT currently?
In 2009-10, the SSAT received 11,203 applications for review, and almost a third of finalised decisions, 32.8 per cent (excluding those withdrawn, dismissed or not reviewable), were overturned.
More than 1 in 2 of the Centrelink decisions changed by the SSAT occurred because the agency got its facts wrong or did not understand the legislation underpinning entitlements worth billions.
The former head of the SSAT has estimated that 10 per cent of Centrelink appeals to the SSAT are initiated by a desire to receive clear, comprehensive reasons as to why a particular decision has been made. Nine out of every 10 decisions changed involved situations where Centrelink made an error of fact (31.8%), incorrectly applied the legislation (13.3%) or the Tribunal uncovered new information and Centrelink failed to interpret the facts and properly collect and assess relevant information about a person’s circumstances (45.6%).
These results highlight the critical importance of the independent review processes of the SSAT. Welfare Rights is concerned that the quality of Centrelink decisions under review will be further undermined by a plan to move to mainly single-member panels from February 2011. The loss of multi member SSAT hearings will result in reduced quality of decision-making for social security recipients appealing Centrelink decisions to the tribunal.
Historically, SSAT panels have comprised members with a mix of expertise, from welfare, legal and government backgrounds. This provided a diversity of perspective and expertise to be brought to bear in the decision making process.
Welfare Rights was reassured in March 2010 by the former Executive Director of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal that single member panels would only be constituted in emergency cases. We urge the Government to oppose any moves that could result in very unfair outcomes for people seeking access to justice.
Plan to improve the system
The poor quality of Centrelink reviews is placing a massive strain on the system. The government needs to:
• provide better resourcing for appeals within Centrelink and at the SSAT
• improve training for Centrelink staff who work in a challenging environment with insufficient resources
• help increase the number of independent welfare rights advocates across Australia to help people deal with Centrelink problems.
www.welfarerights.org.au/default.aspx
