My Centrelink payments were recently reduced significantly and my health care card cancelled. I believe Centrelink has incorrectly considered my circumstances but it seems like such a hassle to get this decision reviewed. Do I have a chance and is it even worth it?
Lawyer Answers (1): Answers from lawyers are general preliminary responses. They are not formal legal advice and cannot taken account of all your circumstances. They do not create a lawyer–client relationship.
Answer by Alison Christou, Brisbane 4000 QLD
- In many cases the short answer to this is ‘yes’. There are a number of reasons for this.
- Public law and especially administrative law are designed to be accessible and cost-effective. With little or sometimes no cost involved in seeking to have a decision changed it can certainly be worthwhile to request a second look by a different person.
- Government officials make mistakes. Often time-poor with high processing demands it is not unusual for a case to be decided wrongly. This human reality is one of the reasons why public law remedies are needed. By submitting your review or appeal application with appropriate detail it is quite possible to obtain a favourable outcome where a decision is clearly wrong.
- Public bodies must abide by the law. If not deciding in your favour would actually be against the law that they work under then there would be dire consequences for both the department in question and the overseeing minister. Your application might be the push that is needed to make better lawful decisions.