review of decision

If we’ve made a decision that a young person doesn't agree with, they can ask for it to be looked at again.

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If a young person doesn't agree with a decision we've made, they can challenge it and it can be reviewed. This is called a 'review of decision'.

what a review of decision is

Young people have the right to apply for a Review of Decision within three months of the original decision being made. When a young person applies outside the three months period, the Benefits Review Committee must decide whether or not to accept the application before it is considered for review.

Decisions made by YSSU that are contestable by young people are outlined in any provisions of (or of any regulations made for the purposes of any provisions of) Parts 1 to 6 and Schedules 1 to 5 of the Social Security Act 2018.

Some examples of what young people can challenge are: 

  • a decline of a payment – for example, Youth Payment, Young Parent Payment, Accommodation Supplement, etc
  • the start date of a payment
  • the establishment, amendment, or recovery of debt
  • the rate of payment 
  • suspensions or cancellations of payments.

If a young person disagrees with a decision based on medical grounds, they can appeal the decision to the Medical Appeals Board. YSSU will refer the Review of Decision request to the Medical Appeals Board for investigation.

It is important to note that not all decisions can be reviewed. Young people have no right to appeal or apply for a Review of Decision if their application lapsed under section 297 of the Social Security Act 2018. 

This means that if YSSU lapses an application for any of the assistance we administer, young people will not be able to apply for a Review of Decision.

If you are unsure whether a decision made can or cannot be reviewed, please contact YSSU and ask to speak with our report writers.

Young people can only review a decision once. If they wish to have the same decision reviewed again, their case will be referred to Legal Services.

who can apply for a review of decision

Young people, their spouse or partner, or an agent with appropriate authorisation from a young person can apply for a Review of Decision. Any third party without written authorisation will not be able to apply for a Review of Decision on behalf of a young person. 

stages of the review and appeal process

Stage 1 – Internal review

This is an internal MSD process only.

When the applicant applies for a Review of Decision, YSSU will have another look at the outcome to ensure that the right decision was made. If YSSU find that their decision is incorrect, they will fix this, and the Review of Decision process may not take place. If they think the decision was correct, they will prepare for the case to be taken to the Benefit Review Committee.

Before it goes to the Benefit Review Committee, an Internal Review Report will be submitted to a manager who will make a decision on the internal review.

They'll decide to:

  • uphold the decision
  • uphold the decision in part or
  • overturn the decision.

Uphold means that the decision made by YSSU is correct.

For example:

  1. The young person submits a Review of Decision disagreeing with the decision to decline their Youth Payment application.
  2. The internal review finds that the decision is in line with Policy and Legislation and the decision to decline was correct.
  3. The Manager agrees with this and the decision is upheld.

Uphold the decision in part means that part of the decision is correct, and part is not.

For example:

  1. The young person submits a Review of Decision disagreeing with a decision for a Special Needs Grant for Dental work costing $1200 was made recoverable.
  2. The internal review finds that only $200 of the grant should have been recoverable, and $1000 should be non-recoverable . 
  3. The Manager agrees for YSSU to change $1000 of the grant to be non-recoverable and leave $200 as recoverable. Here the decision was upheld in part.

Overturn means that the decision made is incorrect and that YSSU will need correct this error.

For example:

  1. The young person submits a Review of Decision disagreeing with the decline of their Youth Payment application. 
  2. The internal review finds that the decision is not in line with Policy and Legislation.
  3. The Manager agrees, and the Youth Payment application will need to be granted. Here the decision is overturned.

Stage 2 – Benefits Review Committee

Where the internal review outcome is either an uphold or uphold in part for the young person's Review of Decision, the decision must go before the Benefits Review Committee.

Where the internal review overturns YSSU’s decision, the issue will generally be resolved.
However, the young person has the right to choose whether or not to take their case to the Benefits Review Committee, even if there may not be an issue for the Committee to consider.

If the matter is required to be taken to the Committee for a hearing, a Report to the Benefits Review Committee will be completed.

The Committee has three members:

  • two members are MSD representatives, and 
  • one is a community representative appointed by the Minister for Social Development. 

All three committee members will not have had any prior involvement in the case that is being reviewed.

The committee must act independently of the Ministry and make a decision within the law. The committee will take into account whether the decision is correct, fair and reasonable using the relevant law and policy.

Stage 3 – Appeal Authority hearing

If the Benefits Review Committee agree that the decision made by YSSU is to be upheld or upheld in part, the young person may appeal, and the Social Security Appeal Authority will hear the case.

The Social Security Appeal Authority is an independent judicial tribunal administered by the Ministry of Justice.

Additional Stage – Out of Time Review of Decision

If a young person applies for a Review of Decision three months or more after the decision was made a Benefits Review Committee Out of Time Report will need to be prepared. The Benefits Review Committee will then consider if the reason that the young person did not apply within the first three months was good and sufficient. 

The Committee will hear the case if it finds that the reason for the delay was good and sufficient. 

If the Committee decides that the reason for the delay was not good and sufficient, the Review of Decision process will end. The young person will not be able to appeal the finding.

Withdrawn Review of Decision application

A young person can withdraw their application for a Review of Decision at any stage by writing a letter or by making contact with YSSU. There is a contact number on the acknowledgement letter issued to them that they can use to contact YSSU.

YSSU will acknowledge their request to withdraw by sending the young person a letter.

Additional information

Additional information can be provided a young person throughout the Review of Decision process. It is best that they provide this in the beginning when they apply,  providing additional information later in the process may cause delays.

This is because another report may need to be completed for the Benefits Review Committee with the new information.

Review of Decision or Query

When a decision is made, there can be confusion between what is considered a Review of Decision and what is considered a query. 

A Review of Decision is when a young person disagrees with a decision and wants it to be reviewed. The young person will then need to complete the Review of Decision application form.

A query is when a young person does not want to go through the formal review process yet, but they want to discuss the decision with YSSU. The young person will need to call and be put through to YSSU so we can hold this conversation. This conversation may also help us identify any oversights and may help us resolve the issue without going through the formal process.

Please do not give our internal 0800 number, as this number is for Youth Service provider use only. However, as their youth coach, you can call us and put them on or you can tell them to call the General Line on 0800 559 009 so that they can be transferred to YSSU.

A query can also come from you as their youth coach if you require further information to relay back to the young person. You can call our internal 0800 559 278 number.

When you disagree with a decision

If you as a youth coach disagree with the decision, you cannot lodge a Review of Decision on their behalf. It is only when a young person disagrees with the decision and want it to be reviewed, that we should receive a Review of Decision application.

Your disagreement with a decision will be treated as a query, and you will need to contact YSSU to discuss this. We will help you understand why we made a decision, and your call may also help us identify any oversights that we may need to reconsider.

how to lodge a review of decision application

Before you can lodge a Review of Decision application, the young person will need to complete a Review of Decision application form, or send a letter to you or their nearest Work and Income office. The young person will need to tell us the date they heard about the decision, what the decision was about, and why they disagree with it.

Young people don't need to use legal language.

If the young person applies for a Review of Decision by using the application form or by posting a letter, you will need to upload the document to ART and send a task to YSSU.

the outcome of the review

YSSU will send letter the young person when the application progresses through each stage of the Review of Decision process. 

In the initial stages of the Review of Decision before it’s referred for a hearing, YSSU will be in contact with the young person to talk about their Review of Decision and give updates on what their decision will likely be.

If a young person wants any further updates, they can make contact with our report writers. Please ensure the proper channels are used by our young people to contact YSSU – refer to the second-to-last paragraph under the heading ‘Review of Decision v Query’ above. Alternatively, our Report Writer’s contact details are in the Review of Decision acknowledgement letter if they want to reach us that way.

For you as a youth coach, if the young person is still enrolled with your service, you can make contact with us and we can provide you with an update.

However, if the young person is no longer with your service then YSSU will not be able to provide you with an update, as you will no longer be privy to the information we hold about them.

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