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How to Appeal

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How to Appeal

Child support appeals can be lodged over the telephone, in writing (using an appeal form) or in person at any SSAT office.

Child support appeals can also be lodged in writing at any Child Support Agency, Centrelink, Department of Human Services or Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs office.
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When can appeals be lodged?

Child support appeals must be lodged within 28 days of receipt of the CSA objection decision. If it has been more than 28 days since the objection decision was received, the applicant can apply to the SSAT for an extension of time to lodge an appeal.

International applicants have additional time to lodge applications.
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International Cases

If you are in a “reciprocating jurisdiction” you have 90 days to lodge an appeal. The CSA information should indicate if you are in such a jurisdiction.
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Costs

It costs nothing to appeal to the SSAT. There are also no penalties or fees if an application is withdrawn. It is important to note that the SSAT cannot make orders for costs against any other party or parties.

The SSAT may pay reasonable public transport travel expenses for a party to attend the hearing.
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Forms

SSAT appeal forms are available in both Portable Document Format (PDF) and Rich Text Format (RTF). Hard-copies are available from any office of the SSAT upon request.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the PDF version of forms. It is available as a free download from the Adobe web site. Viewing options and tools to assist with visually impaired access to PDF files are available at the Adobe Accessibility Resource Centre. RTF documents can be opened in most major word processing programs (such as Microsoft Word and WordPerfect).

Appeal Forms
To apply for a review of a CSA decision by the SSAT, print out the following appeal form, complete it and post it to the SSAT (online application is not yet available). You may want to make a copy for your own records.
Please note: The SSAT can only review CSA objection decisions made on or after 1 January 2007.

SSAT Child Support Appeal Form.pdf
SSAT Child Support Appeal Form.rtf

Applicant Statement of Financial Circumstances
The following form may or may not be required for your child support appeal - your SSAT case manager will let you know if you need to complete this form. These forms are usually required for all change of assessment appeals.


CS01 Statement of Financial Circumstances_Oct08.pdf
CS01_Statement of Financial Circumstances_Oct08.rtf
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Help

You may wish to contact an organisation in your State or Territory for assistance with your appeal. The organisations listed in the following documents may be able to assist with your child support appeal however the SSAT can not guarantee whether an organisation will assist in any specific circumstance.

See also:
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