Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 124Q — Application of Part to decisions under repealed laws
This Part applies as if a decision under: (a) the 1947 Act; or (b) the 1991 Act as in force immediately before the commencement of this Part; were a decision under the social security law.
Section 125 — Decisions by officers under instruments
For the purposes of this Part, a decision made by an officer under an instrument (other than an instrument that is a legislative instrument) made or issued under this Act or the 1991 Act is taken to…
Section 126 — Review of decisions by Secretary
(1) The Secretary may review, subject to subsection (2), a decision of an officer under the social security law if the Secretary is satisfied that there is sufficient reason to review the decision.…
Section 126A — Review of determination of youth allowance rate in relation to maintenance income
The Secretary must review a decision under section 126 if: (a) the decision is a determination of the rate of youth allowance payable to a person for a period in an income year; and (b) in making the…
Section 127 — Decisions that are not reviewable by the Secretary
(1) The Secretary may not, on an application under section 129, review a decision made by the Secretary himself or herself. (2) The Secretary may not review a decision made by the Employment…
Section 128 — Notice to ART Principal Registrar
If the Secretary makes a review decision under section 126 to vary or substitute a decision after a person has applied to the ART for a review in relation to the decision, the Secretary must give…
Section 129 — Application for review
(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), a person affected by a decision of an officer under the social security law may apply to the Secretary for review of the decision. (3) If: (a) an officer makes…
Section 130 — Withdrawal of application
(1) A person who has applied for review of a decision may withdraw the application at any time before the review has been completed. (2) If an application for review of a decision is withdrawn, the…
Section 131 — Secretary may continue payment pending outcome of application for review
(1) If: (a) an adverse decision is made in relation to a social security payment; and (aa) the adverse decision is not made under Division 3AA of Part 3 (compliance with participation payment…
Section 132 — Guidelines for exercise of Secretary’s power to continue payment
The Minister, by legislative instrument: (a) is to determine guidelines for the exercise of the Secretary’s power to make declarations under section 131 in relation to social security payments to…
Section 135 — Review of decisions following application under section 129
(1) Subject to subsection (3) and subsection 127(1), if a person applies under section 129 for review of a decision, the Secretary, the Chief Executive Centrelink or an authorised review officer…
Section 136 — Notice of decision on review
If a person makes a decision under subsection 135(1), the person must give the applicant written notice of the decision.
Section 137 — Certain decisions not to be revived
(1) This section has effect if: (a) the Secretary makes a determination (the first determination) that: (i) a social security payment is granted or is payable to a person; or (ii) a social security…
Section 138 — Notification of further rights of review
(1) If a person (the decision-maker) gives another person notice under section 136, the notice must include: (a) a statement to the effect that the other person may, subject to the social security…
Section 138A — Decisions reviewable under this Division
Each of the following is a reviewable decision for the purposes of this Division: (a) a decision by the Commissioner under section 1061ZVHE of the 1991 Act (Commissioner may defer making…
Section 138B — Commissioner must give reasons for reviewable decisions
(1) The Commissioner’s notice to a person of the making of a reviewable decision must include reasons for the decision. (2) Subsection (1) does not affect an obligation, imposed upon the Commissioner…
Section 138C — Reviewer of decisions
(1) The Commissioner is the reviewer of a reviewable decision for the purposes of this Division, subject to subsection (2). (2) If: (a) the reviewable decision was made by a delegate of the…
Section 138D — Reviewer may reconsider reviewable decisions
(1) The reviewer of a reviewable decision may reconsider the decision if the reviewer is satisfied that there is sufficient reason to do so. (2) The reviewer may reconsider the decision even if: (a)…
Section 138E — Notice to ART Principal Registrar
If: (a) a reviewer makes a decision under subsection 138D(3); and (b) at the time of the reviewer’s decision, a person has applied to the ART for review of the decision reviewed by the reviewer; the…
Section 138F — Reconsideration of reviewable decisions on request
(1) A person whose interests are affected by a reviewable decision may request the reviewer to reconsider the decision. (2) The person’s request must be made by written notice given to the reviewer…
Section 138G — Withdrawal of request
(1) A person who has requested the reviewer to reconsider a reviewable decision may, by written notice given to the reviewer, withdraw the request at any time before the review has been completed.…
Section 138H — ART review of reviewable decisions
Applications may be made to the ART for review of reviewable decisions that have been confirmed, varied or set aside under section 138D (Reviewer may reconsider reviewable decisions) or 138F…
Section 138J — Decision changed before ART review completed
Decision varied (1) If the reviewer varies a reviewable decision under subsection 138D(3) after an application has been made to the ART for review of that decision but before the determination of the…
Section 139 — Simplified outline of this Part
If a person is dissatisfied with a decision of an officer under the social security law, the person may apply to the ART for a review (an “ART review”) of the decision. If a person is dissatisfied…
Section 140 — Application of Division
(1) This Division applies to the review by the ART of a decision of an officer under the social security law, including an employment pathway plan decision. Note: A review for which an application…
Section 140A — Definition of employment pathway plan decision
For the purposes of this Act, an employment pathway plan decision is: (a) a decision of the Employment Secretary under subsection 40A(3) to notify a person of the requirement to enter into an…
Section 142 — Reviewable decisions
(1) Subject to section 144, application may be made to the ART for review (ART review) of: (a) a decision of the Secretary, the Chief Executive Centrelink or an authorised review officer made under…
Section 142A — Person who made the decision
For the purposes of ART review of a decision, a reference in the ART Act to the decision-maker for the decision is taken to be a reference to: (a) the Secretary; and (b) if the decision was made by…
Section 142B — Decision-maker taken to have elected not to participate in ART review proceeding
For the purposes of ART review of a decision, the decision-maker for the decision is taken to have given the ART an election notice (within the meaning of the ART Act) in relation to a kind of…
Section 143 — Application requirement—employment pathway plan decisions
The ART may only carry out an ART review of an employment pathway plan decision if the application for ART review is expressed to be for that decision.
Section 144 — Non-reviewable decisions
The ART cannot review any of the following decisions: (d) a decision under section 36 or 36A of the 1991 Act; (da) a decision under section 1061ZZGC of the 1991 Act; (e) a decision under a provision…
Section 145 — Secretary may continue payment pending outcome of application for review
(1) If: (a) an adverse decision is made in relation to a social security payment; and (aa) the adverse decision is not made under Division 3AA of Part 3 (compliance with participation payment…
Section 146 — Guidelines for exercise of Secretary’s power to continue payment
The Minister, by legislative instrument: (a) is to set guidelines for the exercise of the Secretary’s power to make a declaration under subsection 145(1) affecting payments to persons who are subject…
Section 147 — Application and modification of ART Act
(1) For the purposes of ART review under this Division, a provision of the ART Act listed in an item of the following table is disapplied or modified as set out in that item, in relation to the…
Section 147A — Operation and implementation of decision under ART review
Subsection 32(2) (ART may stay operation or implementation) of the ART Act does not apply in relation to a proceeding for ART review.
Section 147B — Remitting decisions for reconsideration
Section 85 (ART may remit decision to decision-maker for reconsideration) of the ART Act does not apply in relation to a proceeding for ART review.
Section 147C — Legal or financial assistance
(1) Subsection 294(1) (legal or financial assistance for applicants) of the ART Act does not apply in relation to: (a) a person who proposes to apply to the ART for ART review; or (b) a person who…
Section 148 — Procedure on receipt of application for certain ART reviews
(1) The ART may, in relation to an application for ART review, request the Secretary to lodge with the ART the statement and other documents referred to in section 23 (decision-maker must give ART…
Section 165A — ART’s power to obtain information for ART review
(1) If the ART reasonably believes that a person has information that is relevant to an ART review and the person is not a party to the review, the ART may, by written notice given to the person,…
Section 166 — Exercise by Secretary of powers under section 192
(1) The ART may ask the Secretary to exercise the Secretary’s powers under section 192 if the ART reasonably believes that a person will be able to give information, or produce a document, that is…
Section 168 — Hearing of certain ART reviews in private
(1) This section applies in relation to a proceeding for ART review if the ART is constituted for the purposes of the proceeding otherwise than by the guidance and appeals panel. (2) The hearing of…
Section 176 — Costs of review
(1) Subject to subsection (4), a party to an ART review must bear any expenses incurred by the party in connection with the review. (2) The ART may determine that the Commonwealth is to pay the…
Section 177 — Assessment of rate of social security payment
If, on ART review, the ART sets aside a decision (other than an employment pathway plan decision) and substitutes for it a decision that a person is entitled to a social security payment, the ART…
Section 181 — Settlement of proceedings before the ART
(1) The Secretary may agree, in writing, with other parties to settle proceedings before the ART that relate to the recovery of a debt. (2) If proceedings are settled and the Secretary gives the ART…
Section 182 — Variation or substitution of decision before ART review determined
(1) If an officer varies or substitutes a decision after an application has been made to the ART for ART review of the decision, the application is taken to be an application for review of the…
Section 183 — Secretary or ART may treat event as having occurred
If: (a) on ART review of a decision, the ART sets the decision aside; and (b) the Secretary or the ART, as the case may be, is satisfied that an event that did not occur would have occurred if the…
Section 191 — Application of Division
This Division: (a) binds the Crown in each of its capacities; and (b) extends to: (i) acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia, whether or not in a foreign country; and (ii) all persons,…
Section 191A — Reasonable belief needed to require information or documents
The Secretary can only require a person to: (a) give information; or (b) produce a document; under this Division if the Secretary reasonably believes that the person will be able to give the…
Section 192 — General power to obtain information
The Secretary may require a person to give information, or produce a document, to the Department if the Secretary considers that the information or document may be relevant to one or more of the…
Section 193 — Power to obtain information from a person who owes a debt to the Commonwealth
The Secretary may require a person who owes a debt to the Commonwealth under or as a result of the social security law: (a) either to: (i) give to the Department information that is relevant to the…