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Social Security Act 2018

Reviews and appeals - Guide to this Part

390: What this Part does

You could also call this:

“This part explains how to challenge decisions about your social security benefits”

This part of the law tells you about different ways you can ask for a review or appeal if you don’t agree with a decision about your social security benefits.

You can ask a group called a benefits review committee to look at a decision made by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) if you’re not happy with it.

If you’re still not satisfied after the review, you can appeal to an appeal authority. You can do this if the benefits review committee has confirmed or changed the decision, or if the head of MSD made the decision themselves.

If you think the appeal authority made a mistake about the law, you can ask the High Court to look at it. This is called appealing on a question of law.

If you’re not happy with what the High Court decides, you can ask the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal to them.

In some cases, you might even be able to ask the Supreme Court for permission to appeal to them. This is the highest court in New Zealand.

There’s also a special group called the medical board. You can appeal to them if MSD made a decision about your health or ability to work that you don’t agree with.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6783927.

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389: Maintenance proceedings, or

“Legal actions about money for support when you're on a benefit”

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391: Right to seek review of specified decision of MSD made under delegation, or

“You can ask MSD to look again at some decisions they made about you”

Part 7 Reviews and appeals
Guide to this Part

390What this Part does

  1. This Part contains provisions on the following reviews and appeals:

    Reviews by benefits review committee

  2. reviews by a benefits review committee, begun by a specified applicant, of a specified decision of MSD made under a delegation:

      1. Appeals to appeal authority

    1. appeals to the appeal authority, begun by a specified appellant, against a specified decision confirmed or varied by a benefits review committee or made by the chief executive personally:

        1. Appeals to courts

      1. appeals to the High Court, using a case stated by the appeal authority on a question of law only, begun by a specified appellant, against a determination by the authority:
        1. appeals to the Court of Appeal, begun by a party to an appeal to the High Court, and with the Court of Appeal’s leave, against the determination of an appeal to the High Court:
          1. appeals to the Supreme Court, begun by an application under the Senior Courts Act 2016 for its leave to appeal to it, against the determination of an appeal to the High Court or to the Court of Appeal:

              1. Appeals to medical board

            1. appeals to the medical board, begun by a specified appellant, against a specified decision of MSD made on, or involving, medical or capacity grounds.