Reviews of JET Child Care fee assistance (JETCCFA) decisions 109-05040000

JETCCFA eligibility decisions

These decisions can be reviewed under the usual internal review process. Types of eligibility decisions that can be reviewed are: rejection of a claim, cancellation of JETCCFA, a start date, and the number of hours a person is eligible to receive JETCCFA.

When a customer contacts to discuss a JETCCFA eligibility decision:

• At the first point of contact, a Service Officer will discuss the decision, and give the customer information about their options to request an explanation or apply for a formal review of the decision. Service Officers can use the support resources available to them if the matter is complex, or if they need support to give a satisfactory response to the customer
• The customer can choose to request an explanation of the decision, which will be provided by a Subject Matter Expert (SME). The customer may choose this option if they do not understand or would like more information about the decision
• The customer can choose to apply for a formal review of the eligibility decision by an Authorised Review Officer (ARO). The customer may choose this option if they do not agree with the decision

Note: the JETCCFA scheme is not based on legislation. This means decisions about JETCCFA eligibility cannot be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).

JETCCFA debt raising and/or recovery decisions

JETCCFA debts are raised under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA).

This means the usual internal review process does not apply for decisions about the raising and/or recovery of JETCCFA debts. These decisions cannot be formally reviewed by an ARO, but a SME can provide an explanation. An ARO can compete a formal review of the decision that led to a JETCCFA debt being raised,

If the customer does not agree with the decision to raise and/or recover a JETCCFA debt, they can contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

The Minister for Finance and Parliamentary Secretary, or delegates in the Department of Finance determine waiver decisions for JETCCFA debts. Services Australia does not have the delegation to action these waivers.

An application for a formal review of a decision must be made within 28 days of the decision.

See Request for an explanation or application for a formal review.

If the application for a formal review is about an assessment that is still current, the person will remain eligible for JETCCFA under the terms of their existing assessment until the ARO review has been finalised.

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) provides the explanation of a JETCCFA decision.

An Authorised Review Officer (ARO) completes the formal review of a JETCCFA eligibility decision.

If a customer does not agree with any decision made in relation to JETCCFA, they may contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman.