Policy

Role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman

The Ombudsman Act 1976 provides that the Ombudsman is to investigate the administrative actions of Australian Government agencies.    

Purpose of data matching

It is the responsibility of Australian Government agencies that make pension or benefits payments to ensure that the recipients only receive payments to which they are entitled. To achieve this, a variety of review programs are constantly undertaken.

This chapter outlines policy concerning the data matching program.

See Also

What is a right of review?

A person who is dissatisfied with a decision made by a [glossary:delegate:515] of the [glossary:Commission:545] in relation to certain claims for a pension, entitlement to veteran payment or reassessment of a rate of pension or payment, may apply for a review of that decision. This is referred to as a "right of review". A written notice of the making of the decision and of the right of the person to have the decision reviewed must be provided to the person.

Pension or payment recipients and applicants

The Secretary or his delegate can request specified types of information from pension or payment recipients and applicants, and/or recipients and applicants of associated allowances and benefits. A request for information can be made to:

Most VEA compensation and rehabilitation determinations made on or after 21 April 2025 must be appealed directly to the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB), via VRB lodgement channels, rather than to DVA. Appeal timeframes remain the same for all claim types except Acute Support Package, which has been extended to 12 months. DVA has 28 days to prepare the report for the VRB under section 352D of the MRCA. The Commission continues to have the discretion to initiate a reconsideration of own motion.

From 14 October 2024 the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) replaces the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).  Appeal pathways and matters remain largely the same as previous AAT arrangements under ART arrangements, although specific legislative section numbers in the ART Act differ.  Importantly, timeframes for appeals for veterans and provision of information etc. remain the same.

Review program objective

The primary objective of the Income Support Review Program is to ensure pensioners are receiving the correct amount of [glossary:income support pension:79] to which they are entitled under the VEA. There are two types of reviews:

Gathering evidence for the purpose of review

Information accessible under freedom of information legislation

Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) a person may seek access to documents in the possession of [glossary:DVA:306]. This may include manuals, guidelines, rules and instructions used by officers in making decisions relating to [glossary:members:649] of the public. Access may also be gained to information relating to a decision which may adversely affects their interests (or has the potential to do so).