How to Appeal a Centrelink Payment Decision as a Grandparent Carer

Centrelink decisions aren't final. If your FTB claim was rejected, your care percentage was assessed lower than it should be, your ACCS Grandparent application was denied, or any other payment decision went against you — you have the right to challenge it through a structured appeals process. Most grandparent carers don't know this, and many give up after the first "no."

Stage 1: Internal Review (Authorised Review Officer)

The first step is requesting a formal review of the original decision. This is handled by an Authorised Review Officer (ARO) — a more senior Centrelink officer who was not involved in the original decision and reviews it independently.

You can request an ARO review:

• Online through your myGov Centrelink account
• By calling the Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser line on 1800 245 965
• In person at a Services Australia service centre
• In writing

Lodge within 13 weeks of the written notice to secure full backdating. If you're already outside that period, contact Centrelink to ask how a late request affects your case.

When you request the review, include any new evidence you have: updated school letters, medical documentation, statutory declarations from people who can confirm the child's care arrangements. The ARO reviews all the evidence — including anything that wasn't considered in the original decision.

Most care-percentage disputes and FTB rejections are resolved at this stage if you provide stronger third-party evidence. The ARO can affirm, vary, or set aside the original decision entirely.

Stage 2: Administrative Review Tribunal (First Review)

If the ARO upholds the original decision and you still disagree, you can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which replaced the AAT. It is an independent external merits review body.

Apply to the ART within 13 weeks of the ARO's written notice.

The ART conducts a fresh review of the merits — meaning it looks at the entire case again, not just whether Centrelink followed its own procedures. You can present new evidence, explain your circumstances in person (hearings can be by phone or video), and bring a support person. Some community legal centres provide free representation for social security appeals.

Stage 3: ART Second Review and Beyond

If the first ART review goes against you, you can seek a second review before the ART's Senior Bench, subject to the applicable statutory time limit. Beyond that, judicial review in the Federal Court is limited to questions of law.

Common Decisions Worth Appealing

Care percentage assessed too low. If Centrelink determined you have 30% care (below the 35% FTB threshold) but you actually have the child most nights, request a review with updated evidence — a school attendance record showing the child attends from your address, a GP letter confirming your address as the child's home.

ACCS Grandparent denied. Common reasons: the care percentage was assessed below 65%, or Centrelink didn't recognise your relationship as "grandparent" under the statutory definition. If you're a step-grandparent, former step-grandparent, or Indigenous kinship grandparent, the definition is broader than most people assume.

FTB claim rejected during a care dispute. If the biological parent disputed your care and Centrelink sided with them, you can appeal with independent third-party evidence (school, medical, community) that supports your version of the care arrangement.

Carer Allowance rejected. If the medical evidence was deemed insufficient, get the treating specialist to provide a more detailed report on the child's functional impairment and your daily care load, then submit it with the review request.

Time Limits Matter

The first two review steps have 13-week filing limits: the ARO review and the ART first review. The ART second review has its own statutory time limit. As soon as you receive an unfavourable decision, note the applicable deadline and decide whether to seek review well before it.

If the decision involves a debt, ask Centrelink what happens to recovery while your review is underway.

Our Centrelink Payments for Grandparents guide includes a section on reviews and appeals alongside the full claim sequence, so you know exactly what to do if a decision doesn't go your way.

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