Objections, complaints and reviews– your rights following CSA decisions
If you do not agree with a decision made by the Child Support Agency (CSA), you
may have the right to have the decision reconsidered. This fact sheet provides information
on:
Objecting to CSA decisions
What should you do first?
Most CSA decisions are formally advised to customers in writing. First, you should
read any letter and attachments carefully. If you are not sure about the contents
or think the information may be wrong contact a CSA Customer Service Officer on
131 272*. This gives you and CSA a chance to discuss any misunderstandings.
The Customer Service Officer can also provide information about the objections process
and your appeal rights if you disagree with the objection decision.
What is an objection?
An objection is a request to CSA to formally review a decision. You may wish to
object if you believe CSA has:
- used incorrect information
- not considered all the facts
- overlooked relevant details in making a decision (or new information has become
available), or
- not applied the law correctly.
Decisions you can object to
You are able to object to most CSA decisions. For example, you can object to CSA’s
decision:
- on the level of care provided by each parent
- to credit or not credit a non-agency payment (payments made other than to the
CSA)
- to accept or not accept an estimate of income
- on a Change of Assessment outcome.
For a full list of CSA decisions you can object to, visit the website
www.csa.gov.au (search for ‘objections’), or call 131 272*.
Decisions you cannot object to
There are a number of CSA decisions that you cannot object to. The main ones are:
- parentage—a dispute about parentage can only be resolved in a court
- most collection processes – you cannot object to CSA intercepting a tax
refund, garnisheeing your bank account, or the amount of a payment arrangement
- Departure Prohibition Order (DPO) decisions – there are no CSA objection
rights or SSAT appeals on these decisions. If you disagree with the CSA’s
decision to issue a DPO, you can appeal to the Federal Court of Australia or the
Federal Magistrates Court. In some cases, you may be able to apply to the Administrative
Appeals Tribunal, if you are seeking to:
- revoke or vary a DPO
- be granted a Departure Authorisation Certificate, or
- determine the amount of security and date you are to return to Australia
How to object
You must send a letter or email that explains why you object and asks CSA to review
the decision.
It’s a good idea to check the full list of decisions you can object to at
www.csa.gov.au before you start, or call us on
131 272* to discuss your options.
Your objection should include the following information:
- the date of the letter advising you of the CSA decision, and the date you received
the letter
- the decision you are objecting to and detailed reasons why you think CSA’s
decision is incorrect, and
- documents or evidence to support your objection (if available). You can speak
to a CSA Customer Service Officer on 131 272* to find out what
evidence you may need to provide to support your objection.
To email your objection to CSA, go to the CSA website, www.csa.gov.au,
click on the link ‘Contact’ then ‘Enquire
online’ and complete the online form.
Remember to include your case number and daytime telephone number and a Customer
Service Officer will contact you within 28 days to discuss your objection.
Or you can post your objection to the CSA at GPO Box 9815, in your capital city,
or check your decision letter or the CSA website for our postal address.
IMPORTANT: The CSA is required by law to pass on all information
relevant to the objection to the other parent. This means—apart from your
address and phone number—your objection letter or email and evidence you have
supplied which is relevant to your objection will be sent to the other parent.
Timeframe
You have 28 days to object from the date the CSA’s letter advising you of
the decision was delivered to your address. If you live overseas in a reciprocating
jurisdiction, you have 90 days to object. Applications received outside of these
timeframes are not valid and cannot be considered. If you want to object after this
period, you must also make a request for an extension of time explaining why you
were unable to object within 28 days (or 90 days for international cases), and provide
supporting documentation if appropriate. You can make the request for an extension
of time in writing, or by telephone to 131 272*.
If the CSA refuses your request for an extension of time to object, you can appeal
this decision to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT).
After you object to a CSA decision
A dedicated Objections Officer will handle your objection. This Officer will:
- review the information used by the officer who made the original decision
- discuss your objection with you by phone
- possibly contact the other parent to advise them of the objection and their rights
- check whether any new, relevant information is available
- clear up any misunderstandings and correct any mistakes that were made
- make a decision about your objection to the original decision
- inform you and the other parent of the result explaining the reasons for the decision.
While your objection is being considered, the original decision will still apply.
During this time, you may be contacted by the CSA for more information or clarification.
You can also contact the Objections Officer handling your objection for information
about the process and what is happening with your objection.
The other parent’s response
The CSA will write to the other parent and send them a copy of your objection letter
and any additional evidence you have supplied which is relevant to the objection
decision. The other parent has the opportunity to respond and provide their own
documents and evidence. The other parent has 28 days to respond (90 days if they
live overseas in a reciprocating jurisdiction). If they do not respond within these
timeframes, their response may not be considered. They may provide their own information
and documents to CSA, and copies of these documents may be provided to you.
An Objections Officer will discuss the response and evidence with you, if it is
relevant to the decision.
Objection decision
The CSA will make a decision about your objection within 60 days. This is to allow
the Objections Officer time to consider the evidence and discuss the objection with
both parents. If one parent resides overseas, this may take up to 120 days. In most
cases, an Objections Officer will attempt to call you and the other parent, and
advise you of the proposed objection decision.
Once the decision is made, you will be advised in writing if the objection is allowed,
partly allowed or disallowed. The CSA will amend your child support records and/or
assessment if necessary and confirm this in writing.
If you don’t agree with the objection decision
You may be able to appeal to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, the Administrative
Appeals Tribunal or a court.
Appealing a CSA decision
Social Security Appeals Tribunal
The Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) is an independent tribunal which is
able to review most objection decisions made by the CSA. It aims to provide a fair,
just, economical and informal review service to parents. Because the SSAT is completely
independent, the CSA can only be involved in the SSAT process by providing documents
relevant to the objection decision being reviewed, or attending hearings if required.
The CSA cannot help you prepare your SSAT appeal.
The SSAT can affirm, vary or set the CSA decision aside and substitute a new decision,
or send the matter back to the CSA for reconsideration in accordance with any directions
or recommendations of the SSAT.
How does the SSAT work?
- The SSAT can only review the decision being appealed to the SSAT.
- The other parent is notified that an SSAT review is taking place.
- The SSAT has the powers to review all information on the file, and provide it
to the other parent (information identified by the CSA as private and confidential
may not be required to be sent). By law, the CSA must therefore provide the SSAT
and both parents with any documents relevant to the CSA’s decision. This may
include information you provided prior to the objection that had not previously
been provided to the other parent, including information about your financial and
business arrangements relevant to the objection.
- The SSAT may hold a pre-hearing conference between both parents to provide an
opportunity for parents to reach agreement.
- The SSAT panel may conduct a hearing with you and the other parent face-to-face,
on the phone or by video conference. The CSA may be represented at some hearings.
The SSAT may make alternative arrangements if either parent has concerns about attending
a face-to-face conference or hearing.
- There is no fee to apply to the SSAT for a review.
- You do not need a lawyer to appeal to the SSAT. However, you can choose to have
a lawyer represent you.
IMPORTANT: If you or the other parent appeals to the Social Security
Appeals Tribunal (SSAT), the CSA is required to provide all the information that
is relevant to the decision to the SSAT for review. The CSA is also required to
provide this information to both parents. This could include information you provided
to the CSA before an objection was lodged.
Decisions that the SSAT cannot review
The SSAT cannot review an objection decision about a Change of Assessment where
the CSA has decided that the issues raised by the application are too complex and
should be referred to the courts. In these cases, parents must apply to a court
to change the assessment.
The SSAT cannot review decisions made before 1 January 2007. These decisions can
be reviewed subject to an application to the courts.
How to apply to the SSAT
Important: Before applying to the SSAT, one parent must have already
objected to a CSA decision and received a decision on that objection.
- Contact the SSAT on 1800 011 140 or visit
www.ssat.gov.au.
- Print out an appeal form from the SSAT website
www.ssat.gov.au or fill out a form at your local CSA or Centrelink office.
- Or write to the SSAT at GPO Box 9943, in your capital city.
Timeframe
You must apply to the SSAT for a review within 28 days of receiving the CSA’s
objection decision. If you live overseas in a reciprocating jurisdiction, you have
90 days to apply.
If you do not apply within 28 days, you may write to the SSAT requesting an extension
of time. You cannot apply for this extension over the phone. If the SSAT refuses
to grant an extension of time, you may lodge an appeal with the Administrative Appeals
Tribunal to review the decision not to grant extra time.
Further appeal
If you do not agree with the SSAT decision, you can usually appeal to a court but
only on a question of law. A question of law is how the law or legal principle was
applied to the facts of the case or whether the process was legally correct. In
other words, you cannot apply to a court if you simply disagree with the decision.
You may wish to seek further legal advice about questions of law if you are considering
appealing a SSAT decision.
If you are dissatisfied with a SSAT decision in relation to the percentage of care
for a child, you may apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of
the decision.
More information
To get an SSAT appeal form or for more information call 1800 011 140,
visit www.ssat.gov.au, or write to GPO Box
9943, in your capital city.
Publishing SSAT decisions
To help you understand how decisions are made on child support issues, a sample
of decisions made by the SSAT are published on the Australasian Legal Information
Institute website www.austlii.edu.au. All
personal details of people involved in these cases are removed to protect their
privacy.
These published decisions may help to show you how the SSAT process works and the
sort of information the SSAT may take into account when considering an appeal. The
SSAT’s decisions in relation to child support matters show how the child support
legislation applies to the individual circumstances of the case being decided.
Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the courts
You can apply to have some decisions reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
(AAT). The AAT reviews a broad range of administrative decisions made by Government
agencies. The AAT can only review a limited number of decisions about child support.
For more information on which decisions the AAT can review and how to apply to the
AAT, call 1300 366 700 or visit www.aat.gov.au.
You can also take a matter to court in certain circumstances. Before applying to
a court, you should obtain legal advice. For a full list of matters a court may
hear, or for more information, visit the Family Law Courts website
www.familylawcourts.gov.au.
Using CSA’s complaints process
The CSA aims to provide excellent customer service. However, if you are not satisfied
with the service the CSA has provided you can make a complaint. Your experience
can help us improve our service to you and to others.
In most circumstances, the complaints process will not change a decision made in
your case. Asking us to review a child support decision that you think is wrong
(or objecting) is different from making a complaint about the service you have received.
However, a CSA Customer Service Officer can advise you of your objection rights.
If you would like to make a complaint you should follow these steps:
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Step One:
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Contact CSA on 131 272* and speak to a Customer Service
Officer. They will try to solve the problem or let you know if you can object to
a CSA decision.
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Step Two:
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If you are still not satisfied, you may ask to speak to the Customer Service Officer’s
Team Leader.
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Step Three:
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If you are still not satisfied, call CSA’s Complaints Service on 132
919 and speak to a Complaints Resolution Officer who will take a fresh
look at the facts of your case and your complaint.
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Commonwealth Ombudsman
If you have been unable to resolve a complaint with the CSA you may wish to contact
the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The Commonwealth Ombudsman can consider and investigate
complaints from people who believe they have been treated unfairly or unreasonably
by an Australian Government department or agency.
Call 1300 362 072 or visit
www.ombudsman.gov.au
Useful contacts