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What are my rights when dealing with Centrelink?
People have the right to apply for anything they think they might be entitled to. Doesn't
necessarily mean that you'll have the right to receive everything that you think you'll
be entitled to, but you always have the right to apply. And when you're applying for a social
security payment it has to be in writing. You have a right therefore, to lodge a written
claim. And that means you can't just write them a letter, you have to lodge a form that
Centrelink provides you with, and often it's got a number of different components. And
they have to be in the form that Centrelink requires.
People also have the right, once they've applied for a payment, they have a right to receive
a decision in writing. All Centrelink decisions must be in writing. So they must tell you.
They must make a decision as to whether you are entitled to a payment or not, and they
must tell you one way or another.
Once you've received a decision, you also have the right to appeal any Centrelink decision
that you disagree with. And there's a whole process that you go through to appeal.
You also have the right to go through a separate complaints system, which is different from
the appeals system. And the complaint system is where you disagree with, or you object
to, the way you've been treated, and you can get some remedy from that.
And sometimes that can be if you suffered a financial disadvantage because Centrelink
has not given you the correct information. On occasions you can get compensated for that.
For more information, visit the Youth Disability Rights Hub at www.youthdisabilityrights.org.au.