Internal reviews

The department’s review and appeals systems consist of internal and external review mechanisms.

If a customer disagrees with a decision, they have the right to request an internal review of that decision. The department conducts one customer-initiated review per decision. There is no fee for a formal internal review. The internal review process is published on the department’s website.

In 2018–19, the department received 66,083 applications for formal internal reviews.

Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews

If the customer disagrees with the Authorised Review Officer’s decision after the internal review process, they can apply for a merit review by the Social Services and Child Support Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)—an ‘AAT first review’. Further escalation to the AAT General Division—an ‘AAT second review’ is available if necessary.

The types of decisions most commonly challenged in the AAT in 2018–19 were:

• rejection of a claim for a payment (such as Disability Support Pension)
• raising or recovering debts, including Family Tax Benefit reconciliation debts
• cancellation of payment or benefit
• start date of payment
• rate of payment.

Table 62: Social welfare payments merit review applications

Table 63: Social welfare payments merit review outcomes^(a)

Reviews of child support decisions

Under the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, a parent can apply for review of most child support decisions through the department’s objection process—a legislated internal review process for child support decisions. To help to improve future decision‑making, the department provides feedback to the original decision‑makers on the outcomes of objections.

Table 64: Child support objections received and finalised

Objections to change of assessment

The rate of objection to the department’s child support change of assessment in special circumstances decisions was 17.9 per cent in 2018–19. In 45.3 per cent of these cases the department changed the original decision as a result of the objection, most commonly because parents provided new information.

Table 65: Change of assessment in special circumstances applications finalised and objections received

Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews

The AAT is responsible for independently reviewing objections to child support decisions. It received 2,398 applications for first reviews of child support decisions in 2018–19.

The two most common reasons for parents seeking review by the AAT were change of assessment decisions and disputed care arrangements for their children. To improve service delivery and policy outcomes, the department continues to analyse child support review decisions to identify any systemic procedural or operational issues.

Table 66: Child support Administrative Appeals Tribunal review outcomes^(a)

Judicial decision and tribunal appeals

In 2018–19, there were no judicial decisions that had a significant effect on the operations of the department. A large number of the department’s decisions are subject to merit review by the AAT.

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

In 2018–19, the Australian Information Commissioner made no decisions that may have a significant effect on the operations of Services Australia.

External audits: Australian National Audit Office

In 2018–19, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) tabled five performance audits involving the department and made a total of nine recommendations, all of which were agreed by the department.

The parliamentary Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit is required by the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 to examine all Auditor-General reports tabled in parliament. The department was not required to attend any public hearings of the committee during 2018–19 relating to ANAO performance audits.

Relevant ANAO audits tabled in parliament in 2018–19

Report No. 10, Design and implementation of the quality framework, tabled 5 November 2018.

Report No. 13, Disability Support Pension—follow-on audit (a cross-entity audit also involving DSS), tabled 29 November 2018.

Report No. 15, Human Services’ compliance strategies, tabled 6 December 2018.

Report No. 16, Implementation of the Australian Government’s Workplace Bargaining Framework (a cross-entity audit involving a number of agencies), tabled 13 December 2018.

Report No. 28, Management of smart centres’ Centrelink telephone services—follow-up, tabled 21 February 2019.

The ANAO audit reports are at anao.gov.au

Independent Review of Health Providers’ Access to Medicare Card Numbers

On 10 July 2017, the then Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, and the then Minister for Human Services, the Hon Alan Tudge MP, announced the Independent Review of Health Providers’ Access to Medicare Card Numbers. The review was commissioned following media reports that Medicare card numbers were available for sale on the ‘dark web’.

The review panel was led by Professor Shergold AC and considered how to balance appropriate access to Medicare card numbers for health professionals to confirm patient eligibility for health services with the security of patients’ Medicare information.

The final report, publicly released on 14 October 2017, contained 14 recommendations. The government gave immediate in-principle agreement. On 16 February 2018, the government released its detailed response to the report. It agreed without qualification to 13 recommendations and confirmed in-principle agreement to one recommendation.

The department has implemented 13 of the recommendations and is on track to implement the remaining recommendation within the timeframe specified in the Australian Government’s response.

Parliamentary inquiries

In 2018–19, the department contributed to a range of parliamentary inquiries by providing written submissions, attending public hearings and private briefings, and submitting answers to supplementary questions. Inquiries and reports to which the department contributed included:

• Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit Report 452: Natural disaster recovery, Centrelink telephone services and Safer Streets Program [Review of Auditor-General’s Reports Nos 24–50 (2014–15)]
• Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit Inquiry: Commonwealth contracting [based on Auditor-General’s Report No. 19 (2017–18)]
• House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport inquiry and report: The hearing health and wellbeing of Australia
• Select Committee on the Future of Work and Workers inquiry: Future of work and workers in Australia
• Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme inquiry and report: NDIS ICT systems
• Joint Select Committee inquiry and report into the oversight of the implementation of redress related recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
• Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry and report: My Health Record system
• Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry and report: My Health Records Amendment (Strengthening Privacy) Bill 2018
• Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry and report: Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2018
• Education and Employment References Committee inquiry and report: The appropriateness and effectiveness of the objectives, design, implementation and evaluation of jobactive
• Community Affairs References Committee inquiry: ParentsNext, including its trial and subsequent broader rollout
• Senate Economics References Committee inquiry and report: Credit and financial services targeted at Australians at risk of financial hardship
• Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry and report: Support for Australia’s thalidomide survivors

Reports by the Commonwealth Ombudsman

The department maintains a collaborative and productive working relationship with the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The department monitors the implementation of recommendations from reports published by the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

In 2018–19, the Commonwealth Ombudsman opened 374 investigations relating to the department. This is a decrease of 38.5 per cent compared with 2017–18.

In 2018–19, the department responded to 92.7 per cent of requests within the required timeframe.

In 2018–19, the Commonwealth Ombudsman published one report about the department.

Report No. 01/2019—Centrelink’s automated debt raising and recovery system—implementation report, published 3 April 2019

The purpose of the investigation was to seek assurance that the department and the DSS had implemented the agreed recommendation from the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s own-motion report Centrelink’s automated debt raising and recovery system (April 2017).

The report found that the department had made significant progress in implementing the agreed recommendations. The report made four further recommendations calling for improved explanations to customers regarding recovery fees, options to advise of personal circumstances, debt explanations and the use of averaged ATO income. The department agreed with these recommendations.