HIYU - February 2025

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2025 everyone. Thank you all for your hard work in the ROD space last year, we are looking forward to 2025, and hope that you all had a break and a great start to the New Year.

Payslips for Hearings

Community Representatives who wish to receive payslips for hearings attended, should contact their local BRC Co-ordinator, who can forward on this request to our HR Team. 

These payslips will be for the fortnight end date, in which the hearing occurred. 

The payslips do not itemise the individual hearings, we advise Community Representatives to retain a copy / log of the hearings attended to reconcile the payslips against. 

A request has been lodged to change this - to itemise the claims.   We will update via this forum should and when this becomes available.

Applications & Information:  Social Security Appeal Authority

Applications to the Social Security Appeal Authority can be via email to SSAA@justice.govt.nz or alternatively at:
 
Social Security Appeal Authority
Tribunals Unit
DX SX 11159
Wellington 
 
Applicants can also access an appeal form & more information about the Appeal Process via the Ministry of Justice web site: 
 
https://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/social-security-appeal-authority/make-an-appeal/

The Ministry’s outcome letter template has been updated to reflect this change.

Jurisdiction: Having a hearing or not?

What about jurisdiction issues? Do we still need a hearing? And do we have to give the Applicant appeal rights if the panel decides it is outside jurisdiction?

The BRC cannot review a decision (does not have jurisdiction) if:

• It is not a decision listed in Section 397, 398 or 399 of the Social Security Act 2018
• The matter has been heard previously by the BRC or another judicial body
• The review is outside the three-month review period and the committee decides there is no good reason for the delay.

The Ministry should seek legal advice, around the jurisdiction of a Review of Decision,  before the Jurisdiction Report to the BRC is completed. 

The Benefit Review Panel will sit to decide if they have jurisdiction to hear the matter.

There is a  template letter that should be used in cases where the matter is deemed by the Ministry to be outside the jurisdiction of the Benefit Review Committee (refer to the BRC Coordinator if needed).

Where the BRC has decided that it does not have jurisdiction to consider a Review of Decision, the Applicant cannot then appeal this Review of Decision to the Social Security Appeal Authority.  

The Social Security Appeal Authority may only consider appeals that have been confirmed or varied by a Benefits Review Committee. 

Please refer to page 1 of the Review of Decision Report Writers Information Pack -  available under Documents on the Complaints about an income support or pension decision page.

Recording Hearing

A client does not need to seek approval before recording a hearing. It is entirely lawful for someone to record a conversation to which she or he is a party. The client does not need to ask for permission and does not need to inform the Committee of the recording. However, it is an offence if a client records a conversation that she or he is not a part of, (e.g., if the client leaves the room and records the conversation of others in the room).

If a client requests to record the hearing, best practice would be for the Committee to record the hearing using a Dictaphone which makes a digital recording, copies can then be made to a CD so that the client, the Committee, and the Ministry all have the same recorded information. The Fraud Investigation Units have these available. The Committee should politely ask the client that it is preferable that the client informs the Committee that she or he is taping the hearing. However, the Committee does not have authority to refuse to let the client record the hearing.

Members should also be mindful that with modern technology a recording may occur without your knowledge.

Please refer to page 28 of the Panel Members Information Pack available under Documents on the Complaints about an income support or pension decision page.