about the bswat payment scheme - dss web viewthis handbook has a lot of important information in...

About the BSWAT Payment Scheme

Information for supported employees – Easy Read handbook Text-only version

Important information This handbook has a lot of important information in it. It explains what

the BSWAT Payment Scheme is, and what you need to do.

Soon, you may have to make an important decision about the BSWAT

Payment Scheme. Don’t worry – we explain all about this in the

handbook.

The information has been written to help you make a decision that is

right for you. Please read this handbook carefully.

If you need help to read the handbook, or to make the decision, please

ask someone you trust.

There is information about the people who can help you in Chapter 2.

You don’t have to read the handbook all at once.

You may like to read some of it a few times to make sure you get all the

information you need.

The handbook has been written by the Australian Government.

In the handbook, the word ‘we’ means the government.

Some words are written in bold. We explain what these words mean.

There is a list of these words on page 5.

The handbook explains the rights you have under the law.

And it explains all of the choices you have.

We’ve also written documents for people such as families, advocates

and staff in Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs). You’ll find a list of

these documents in Chapter 9.

And, we will be running information sessions about the payment scheme

at ADEs around Australia.

Please ask your manager if there will be an information session at your

workplace.

If you have any other questions, you can contact us.

You can call the BSWAT Hotline on 1800 880 052

This is a free call from landlines.

If you need to write to us, our address is:

Department of Social Services

BSWAT Payment Scheme

GPO BOX 9820

Hobart TAS 7001

Or you can email us at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

What’s in this handbook?

Chapter 1: About the BSWAT Payment Scheme

Chapter 2: People who can help you

Chapter 3: Who can take part?

Chapter 4: How are the payments worked out?

Chapter 5: Your legal options

Chapter 6: The steps in the process

Chapter 7: Legal advice and financial counselling

Chapter 8: Asking for a review

Chapter 9: More information

Chapter 10: Space for your notes

Words we use

Advocate

A person who speaks up for people with disability.

Application

A form that you complete and send to the government to find out if you

are eligible for a one-off payment from the scheme.

Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE)

Australian Disability Enterprises provide work and support for people

with disability. They are often called ADEs.

Business Services Wage Assessment Tool

A tool for working out wages. This tool is usually called the BSWAT.


A scheme that has been set up by the Australian Government to provide

eligible people with a one-off payment.

Sometimes we call this the ‘payment scheme’.

Class action

A court case that involves a group of people. This is sometimes called a

representative proceeding.

Compensation

Money that is paid to make up for a loss or other problem that has

occurred.

Competency

How well a person understands and does a job, or part of a job.

Daily support

When the staff in the ADE help you in your work every day.

Financial counsellor

A person who can help with decisions about money.

Guardian

Someone who can make decisions for another person. They are chosen

by a court, tribunal or board.

Indexation

An increase to a payment amount. It relates to the way the cost of

everyday items goes up over time.

Intellectual Impairment

A person with:

intellectual disability

autism spectrum disorder

dementia

acquired brain injury.

Legal advisor

A person who provides advice about the law.

Letter of Offer

A letter from the government that tells you how much money you will get

from the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

Nominee

Someone who you trust and choose to make decisions with you, or for

you.

Productivity

How much work someone does during a period of time.

Qualification

A certificate or other document that shows a person is professional and

has the skills required to do their job.

Registration

The process of letting us know you would like to receive more

information about the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

Representative proceeding

Another name for a class action, which is a court case that involves a

group of people.

Supported Wage System

A tool that is used to work out wages in both open employment and

some ADE’s.

Chapter 1: About the BSWAT Payment Scheme The BSWAT Payment Scheme has been set up by the Australian

Government to provide eligible people with a one-off payment.

The payment is for some people who work, or have worked, in

Australian Disability Enterprises – which are usually called ADEs.

Your supported workplace might be an ADE.

The payment is only for people who had their wages worked out using

the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool.

This tool is usually called the BSWAT.

A different tool may have been used in your workplace to work out your

wages. You can ask your ADE about this.

The story so far

In 2012, there was a court case about the BSWAT.

In this case, 2 people with disability said that they weren’t paid fairly.

The court decided that the BSWAT was not the best way to work out the

wages for these 2 people.

Following this case, the Australian Government will offer a one-off

payment to some people whose wages were assessed using the

BSWAT.

This is called the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

A law has been passed about the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

The law is called the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool

Payment Scheme Act 2015.

The payment scheme has started.

It will end on 31 December 2017.

In this document, we explain what you need to do to receive a payment

from the scheme, and when you need to do it.

How much money will people get?

Everyone’s situation is different.

The people who can take part in the payment scheme will have different

jobs, they’ll work different hours and they’ll earn different wages.

Not everyone will be offered a payment through the scheme.

We explain who can take part in the payment scheme in Chapter 3.

And we explain how the payments will be worked out in Chapter 4.

Some people will not receive an offer because of the way they were paid

in the past.

Some people may receive an offer because of the way they were paid in

the past.

The lowest payment people will be offered is $100.

Some people may be offered several thousand dollars.

Will the BSWAT Payment Scheme affect your wages now?

The payment scheme will not affect your wages now.

Soon, some ADEs are going to start using different tools to work out

people’s wages to replace the BSWAT. Some ADEs have started doing

this already.

New wage assessments can’t be done with the BSWAT anymore.

Your current job

The payment scheme will not affect the way you do your job, or your

current wages.

You can talk to your manager about your job and your wages.

You do not have to worry that you will lose your job if you take part in the

payment scheme.

Receiving the Disability Support Pension

The one-off payment is unlikely to affect your Disability Support Pension.

Most people will continue to receive the Disability Support Pension in the

usual way.

Some people will need to have an asset test.

This is a test that works out how much you own – including things like

money in the bank, a car, a house or shares.

Paying tax

If you receive a one-off payment from the scheme, you may not have to

pay tax on that money.

We have changed the law to reduce the tax you have to pay under the

scheme.

If you do have to pay tax, we will pay you an extra amount of money with

your BSWAT payment to help meet the cost of that tax.

Chapter 2: People who can help you There's a lot to understand about the BSWAT Payment Scheme. And

you have to make some big decisions.

There are people who can talk to you about your options and help you

make a decision.

You may like to ask someone you trust to help you, like a family member

or a friend.

You can also ask an advocate to help you, or a nominee. We explain

who these people are on the following pages.

If you want to accept an offer from the payment scheme, you will need to

show us that you have received advice from a legal advisor and a

financial counsellor.

We explain who these people are and how they can help you on the

following pages as well.

Family and friends

You can ask a member of your family to help you with the BSWAT

Payment Scheme.

Or you can ask one of your friends.

This should be someone you trust. You will need to share information

about your wages and your job with this person.

Choosing an advocate

You can ask an advocate to help you.

Advocates are people who speak up for people with disability.

If you would like to use an advocate, you can ask staff at your workplace

or another support person to help you find one. Or, you can search

online.

Choosing a nominee

Some people will choose to have a nominee.

Some people must have a nominee.

A nominee is a person who you trust to help you make the decision.

They must agree to be your nominee for the payment scheme.

A nominee can be a family member, a friend or other adult you trust.

There are rules about the person you can choose as your nominee.

Your nominee must be an adult.

They must be more than 18 years old.

Your nominee can’t be someone who works for the Department of Social

Services, unless they are related to you.

And they can’t be someone who works at an ADE unless they are

related to you.

There are also some advocates who can’t be your nominee unless they

are related to you.

There are rules about the way your nominee must work with you.

They must ask you what you think.

They must ask you what you want.

This is sometimes called your preference.

And they must help you to make the decision that is best for you.

Your nominee must also respect all of your rights.

If you have a nominee for Centrelink issues, you may wish to ask this

person to be your nominee for the payment scheme.

Getting legal advice and financial counselling

Legal advice is provided by a legal advisor.

This person can help you understand the legal issues about the payment

scheme and your options.

Financial counselling is provided by a financial counsellor.

This person can help you understand how the payment scheme will

affect your money situation.

We explain in detail how these people can help you in Chapter 7.

Chapter 3: Who can take part? Only some people can take part in the payment scheme.

The payment scheme is for people with intellectual impairment.

Intellectual impairment means:

intellectual disability

autism spectrum disorder

dementia

acquired brain injury.

People who can take part in the payment scheme must have worked for

an ADE for at least 1 day between 1 January 2004 and 28 May 2014.

And you must have had support each day to do your job. This is called

daily support.

Your wages, including training wages, must have been worked out with

the BSWAT, at some point in time.

You can ask your manager or your boss if your wages have been

worked out with the BSWAT.

If your workplace used a different tool to work out your wages, you won’t get a payment.

Even if your wages were worked out using the BSWAT, you may not get a payment.

It depends on your situation.

If you have accepted a payment offer from another legal case about the

BSWAT, you won't be able to apply.

We explain this in more detail in Chapter 5.

Working out if you can apply for the BSWAT Payment Scheme

The checklist below will help you work out if you can apply for the

payment scheme.

If you tick ‘no’ to any of the questions, you won’t be able to take part in

the scheme.

You can ask a family member, a friend or another person you trust to

help you complete this checklist.

Checklist Yes No

You have an intellectual impairment,

according to the list on page 22.

You worked for an Australian Disability

Enterprise for at least 1 day between

1 January 2004 and 28 May 2014.

You had support each day to do your job.

Your wages, including training wages, were

worked out with the BSWAT.

You have not received any compensation

about the BSWAT.

If you ticked ‘yes’ to all of the boxes above, you can apply for the

BSWAT Payment Scheme.

We explain how to do this in Chapter 6.

If your application is successful and you accept a payment offer, it will

mean that you cannot take part in other legal action about the BSWAT in

the future.

We explain this in detail in Chapter 5.

Emma’s story

Emma is a 38-year-old woman with intellectual impairment.

She works as a packaging assistant at an ADE 5 days a week.

She’s been doing this since 2005.

She receives support to do her work each day.

Since 2005, Emma has had 3 BSWAT assessments.

Emma registered for the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

Then she applied for a payment from the scheme. Her mum agreed to

be her nominee.

She got a letter from the government offering her a payment.

Emma and her mum met with a legal advisor and a financial counsellor.

These people talked with Emma and her mum about Emma’s legal

situation and her money, and her options.

Emma and her mum understood that by accepting the payment offer she

could not take part in any legal proceedings about the BSWAT now and

in the future, including the class action court case.

Emma is happy with the amount that she has been offered.

She chose to accept the offer from the BSWAT Payment Scheme and

the money was paid into her bank account.

Mark’s story

Mark has autism.

He works in an ADE as a warehouse assistant.

He’s been doing this since 2007.

His wages have been worked out using a tool called the Supported Wage System.

He registered for the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

Then he applied for a payment from the scheme.

Mark got a letter from the government saying that he was not eligible for

the scheme. The letter explained that this was because his wages had

not been worked out using the BSWAT.

He was unhappy about this.

He asked for a review.

The review letter also said that Mark could not take part in the scheme

because his wages had not been worked out using the BSWAT.

He was disappointed about this but he understood.

What if you don’t agree with a decision?

If you are told that you cannot take part in the scheme, you can ask for a

review.

A review means that we will look at your information again before we

make a final decision.

There is more information about the review process in Chapter 8.

Chapter 4: How is the payment worked out?Before we explain how payments in the scheme are worked out, it's

important to understand how the BSWAT was used in the past to work

out people's wages.

How BSWAT was used to work out wages

Productivity relates to how much work someone did during a period of

time.

Competency relates to how well someone understood and did their job,

or parts of their job.

A person's productivity and competency were tested.

The productivity and competency scores were added together to get a

result.

The result was used to work out how wages were paid.

How the BSWAT Payment Scheme will work

We will take the amount the person would have received if only the

productivity score was used to work out their wages.

The competency score will not be used.

We will then subtract the amount the person was paid using the BSWAT.

This will give us an amount.

We will offer people 50% or half this amount.

We explain why 50% on page 31.

People who were paid using the BSWAT some years ago may get a

larger payment amount.

This is because indexation has been added to their payment.

Indexation is an increase to a payment amount. It relates to the way the

cost of everyday expenses go up over time.

For example, in 2005, it may have cost $250 per week to rent an

apartment. But in 2015, it may have cost $300 per week.

Why 50%?

There are 3 main reasons why we have decided that 50% is a good

amount.

Reason 1

If you go to court about the BSWAT, there is no guarantee that you will

end up with more money than what you may get through the payment

scheme. You may get more money. You may get less.

You may not get any money at all.

It’s up to the court to decide.

Reason 2

We will pay the money quickly if you are offered a payment.

It is our goal to make all payments by the end of December 2017.

Reason 3

We have also decided that 50% is a good amount because:

We’ve made sure that it is very unlikely that the payment scheme will affect your Disability Support Pension.

We’ve made sure that if you have to pay tax on the payment, it will be a reduced amount.

We explain how this works in Chapter 1.

We don’t know how a payment from the class action or another legal

proceeding will affect your disability pension or your tax.

You will need to get help and advice to work out what’s right for you.

We explain how to get help and advice in Chapter 2.

Chapter 5: Your legal optionsThis chapter explains the legal options that are available to you about

the BSWAT. It explains your legal rights, and it has information about

making the decision about what is right for you.

This is not legal advice. We explain how to get legal advice in Chapter 7.

Important!

If you accept a payment through the BSWAT Payment Scheme, you

can’t take part in any other legal proceedings about the BSWAT,

including the class action court case.

You have to make a decision that is right for you.

But you don’t have to make the decision on your own. We explain who

can help you in Chapter 2.

Legal proceedings

Some people are taking part in legal proceedings about the BSWAT.

For example, some people are currently taking part in a class action

about the BSWAT.

A class action is a case started in court by 1 person for a group of

people who have the same problems.

This is sometimes called a representative proceeding.

In 2013, a man named Tyson Duval-Comrie started a class action

against the Australian Government.

Tyson is a supported employee with an intellectual disability. He works

for an ADE.

He was paid using the BSWAT.

He is seeking compensation for himself and other people who were

paid using the BSWAT.

If the class action is successful, some people may receive

compensation.

If the class action is not successful there could be no payment of

compensation.

Taking part in the class action

You will automatically be included in the class action if:

you have an intellectual disability

your wages were worked out using the BSWAT

you were working in an ADE on 22 October 2013

you have not opted out of the class action.

When you are part of a class action you are called a ‘group member’.

You can search for information about the class action on the internet.

You might want to ask someone you trust to help you.

The official name of the class action is:

Tyson Duval-Comrie v Commonwealth of Australia VID 1367 of 2013

If you would like more information about the class action you can find

documents for this case on the Federal Court website at:

www.fedcourt.gov.au/case-management-services/class-actions

Your legal rights

Everyone has rights under the law.

You have the right to make a choice that is best for you.

You can decide to

accept a payment

from the scheme.

OR

You can continue in

the class action (if

you're a group

member) or take

part in another legal

proceeding.

OR

You can also choose

not to take part in the

scheme or a legal

proceeding (although

the date for opting

out of the class

action has now

closed).

Working out what’s right for you

Everyone has a different situation.

You need to get help and advice to work out what’s right for you.

We explain who can help you and give you advice in Chapter 2.

You must get legal advice and financial counselling if you want to accept

a payment from the scheme.

We explain how this works in detail in Chapter 7.

Making a decision

You have to decide what’s best for you.

You could register and apply to take part in the payment scheme and

see how much we offer you.

If you’re happy with the offer, you can accept it.

If you’re not happy with the offer, you can ask for a review.

Or, you can decline the offer and still take part in the class action.

You just have to make sure you register for the scheme by 30 April

2016.

And you need to apply by 30 November 2016.

Chapter 6: The steps in the processThere are 5 steps in the BSWAT Payment Scheme. It is important to

follow every step.

You need to:

1. register

2. apply for a payment

3. receive a Letter of Offer

4. get legal advice and financial counselling

5. say yes or no to the offer.

We explain all of these steps on the following pages.

There are also some important dates to remember.

Please make sure you take a note of the dates. They are listed on the

next page.

Important dates

What will happen? When will it happen?

Registrations close 30 April 2016

Applications open 1 July 2015

Applications close 30 November 2016

Acceptance of offer By 31 December 2017

Request for extension of time By the date in your Letter of Offer

Payment scheme ends 31 December 2017

You must register with us to take part in the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

If you don’t register, you can’t apply.

A diagram of how the payment scheme works

Registering

You must register to take part in the payment scheme.

Registering is a way of letting us know that you want more information

about the payment scheme.

You may have received a letter from us about registering.

Registering doesn’t mean you will receive a payment.

And it doesn’t mean you have to make a decision about receiving a

payment just yet.

Registering will not affect any legal proceedings that are taking place.

When you register, we will send you information and forms.

Would you like to register?

If you want to register, please tell us.

You can register by:

Phoning the BSWAT Hotline on 1800 880 052. This is a free call from

landlines.

Emailing us via [email protected]

Visiting the website at bswat.dss.gov.au

Important date: Registrations are due by 30 April 2016.

http://www.dss.gov.au/


Applying for a payment

If you would like to receive a payment from the scheme, you need to

apply.

Applying is different from registering.

Not everyone will get a payment.

We explain who can get a payment in Chapter 3.

After you register, we will send you an application form.

You need to complete this form.

You can ask someone to help you fill in the form.

We explain who can help you in more detail in Chapter 2.

Important date: Applications are due by 30 November 2016.

Receiving an offer

When we get your application, we will read all the information you have

given to us.

We will follow a set of rules to work out if you can take part in the

payment scheme and be made an offer.

We will send you a letter with our decision.

We will tell you all the things we thought about in working out whether:

you can take part in the payment scheme

if you have been made an offer, how we worked out how much to offer you.

Some people will receive a Letter of Offer.

Some people won’t be able to take part in the scheme, so they won’t

receive a payment offer.

If you don’t agree with our decision, you can ask for a review.


The next step is getting legal and financial counselling to help you make

your decision.


Accepting an offer

If you are happy with our payment offer, you can accept it.

You will not get into trouble with the government or anyone else if you

accept a payment from the scheme.

To accept the offer, you will need to fill in a form and send it to us.

Our contact details are in Chapter 9.

And you will need to send us copies of the certificates you received from

your legal advisor and financial counsellor.

We explain about these certificates in Chapter 7.

By accepting an offer from the scheme, you will be unable to take part in

the class action or any legal proceedings about the BSWAT in the future.

There’s more information about other legal proceedings in Chapter 5.

If you accept an offer from the payment scheme, you will no longer be in

the class action.

This will happen automatically.

We will pay the amount in your Letter of Offer into your bank account.

The payment will be made as soon as possible after the offer is

accepted.

Declining an offer

If you decide that you don’t want to accept the offer, you can say no to it.

This is called ‘declining’ the offer.

You don’t need to do anything to decline the offer.

You do not need to write back to us.

You do not need to complete a form.

You will not get in trouble from the government or anyone else if you

decline a payment from the scheme.

Your legal advisor will give you advice about your other legal options.

These include taking part in the class action or going to court on your

own.

Asking for a review

If you’re not happy about a decision we have made about the payment

scheme, you can ask for a review.

For example, if you’ve been told that you are not eligible for the payment

scheme, you can ask for a review.

Or, if you’re not happy with the offer you’ve received, you can ask for a

review.

We explain how to ask for a review in Chapter 8.

What if you change your mind?

You can change your mind about applying, accepting or declining an

offer. You need to do this by certain dates.

All the important dates are listed on page 41.

The timing is important.

For example, you can’t change your mind after the date for accepting an

offer has passed.

The date you need to accept an offer by will be included in your Letter of

Offer.

You can’t change your mind after you accept a payment offer.

You can contact us at any time if you are unsure. Our contact details are

in Chapter 9.

Chapter 7: Legal advice and financial counselling Legal advice is provided by a legal advisor.

This person can help you understand the legal issues about the payment

scheme and what taking a payment means for your rights.

Financial counselling is provided by a financial counsellor.

This person can help you understand how the payment scheme will

affect your money situation.

Why do you need legal advice and financial counselling?

We want to know that you have received independent legal advice and

financial counselling about the payment scheme.

This means you will get advice from people who don’t work for the

government.

By getting independent legal advice and financial counselling, we will

know that:

everything has been explained to you by people who understand the law and money

you’ve been able to make a decision that’s right for you.

If you decide not to accept an offer from the payment scheme, you don’t

need to see a legal advisor and financial counsellor.

But we think it’s a good idea to see a legal advisor and financial

counsellor before making this decision.

Who pays for the legal advice and financial counselling?

The government will pay for the legal advice and financial counselling

(although there are limits on how much the Government will pay).

You can tell your legal advisor and financial counsellor about this when

you book your meetings.

Which legal advisor or financial counsellor can you use?

You can choose a legal advisor or financial counsellor.

You may already have a legal advisor or financial counsellor that you like

working with.

Or you can choose one from a list on the website at

www.dss.gov.au/bswat-advisors-counsellors

All of the people on the list are independent. They don’t work for the

government.

They will help you work out what is right for your situation.

The legal advisors and financial counsellors must have a qualification.

A qualification is a certificate or other document that shows a person is

professional and has the skills needed to do their job.

This qualification must be current in the state or territory where they

work.

http://www.dss.gov.au/bswat-advisors-counsellors

How will the legal advisor and financial counsellor help you?

You will need to arrange to meet with the legal advisor.

And you will need to arrange to meet with the financial counsellor.

You can bring someone you trust to these meetings – like a family

member, a friend, a nominee or an advocate.

We describe who these people are in Chapter 2.

Your support person, advocate or nominee can help you during the

meeting with the legal advisor and the financial counsellor.

You will need to bring some paperwork to each of the meetings, such as:

this handbook

the Letter of Offer you have received from the BSWAT Payment Scheme

any other letters you have received.

You might also like to take some other paper work. These are optional:

tax returns (if you pay tax)

information about your wages in the past – like payslips

bank statements

details of your disability pension.

The legal advisor and the financial counsellor will know about the

BSWAT Payment Scheme.

If they don’t know about it, they can visit our website or call us. We have

created some information for them to read.


They will look at your paperwork and get to know your personal situation.

They will ask you questions.

They should listen to you.

They should help you think about all of your options.

They should respect your choices.

They should respect your privacy.

And they should help you make a decision that’s right for you.

They can make suggestions, but they should not tell you what to do. The

decision is up to you.

You may need to meet the legal advisor more than once, or talk to them

on the telephone.

You may need to give them more information if they need it.

If you decide to accept the offer under the scheme, they will each give

you a signed certificate to send to us.

We explain this in more detail on page 59.

What if you’re not happy with the legal advisor or financial counsellor?

If you’re not happy with the legal advisor or financial counsellor, you can

choose someone else.

You will need to contact us to get another certificate for your new legal

advisor or financial counsellor to sign.

Our contact details are included in Chapter 9.

But remember there is a deadline to accept a payment offer.

The deadline is in your Letter of Offer.

You need to meet with these people and send the signed certificates to

us before the deadline if you want to accept the offer.

You can call us on 1800 799 515 if you need more time.

You need a reason to ask for more time.

And you need to do this by the date in your Letter of Offer.

Getting the certificates

If you decide to accept the offer, you need to show us that you have

received legal advice and financial counselling.

Both the legal advisor and financial counsellor will give you a certificate

to show that you have talked to them.

You need to send the certificates to us when you accept the offer.


We must receive these certificates before we can make the payment.

You can call us on 1800 799 515 if you need more time to do this.

You need a reason to ask for more time.

And you need to do this before the date in your Letter of Offer.

After this date we will not be able to give you more time.

There are 2 situations where a financial counselling certificate is not

required.

1. When the payment you have been offered is less than $1000.

2. When the nominee is also a guardian for financial issues.

A guardian is someone who can make decisions for another person.

They are chosen by the court, a tribunal or a board.

Chapter 8: Asking for a review If you are unhappy with a decision we make, you can ask us to change

our mind.

We call this a review.

For example, you may be unhappy if we say you can't take part in the

payment scheme.

Or, you may be unhappy about the payment offer we make.

In the review, we will look at all the information again.

There are 2 stages of review:

1. an internal review

2. an external review.

We explain these on the following pages.

Internal review

An internal review is done by the government.

If you’re unhappy with a decision, you can contact us – either in writing

or by phone – and ask us to look at the information again.


You need to tell us why you think the decision was not right.

You need to include:

paperwork that supports your case

the reference number on your Letter of Offer.

We will review the decision as soon as possible.

We will write to you about the results of the review.

If you’re still not happy, you can ask for an external review.

External review

An external review is done by someone who does not work for the

government.

This person can be a retired judge, or someone who has been working

as a lawyer for more than 10 years.

This person will look at all the information that has been provided and

the decisions that have been made.

The external reviewer will then make a decision about what should be

done next.

You will get a letter about the results of the external review.

There are no more reviews allowed after this.

This is the final decision.

Important note

If your case is reviewed, it doesn’t mean you will get a payment, or a

higher payment amount, under the scheme.


1. What to do if you’ve been told you can’t take part in the payment scheme and you don’t agree

If you receive a letter saying that you cannot take part in the scheme,

and you don’t agree with this decision, you can ask for a review.

You need to do this within 21 days from the date in the letter you

receive.

You need to tell us why you think the decision was not right.

You need to include paperwork that supports your case.


Then we will write to you about the results of the review.

If you are not happy with our decision about the review, you can request

an external review.

We explain more about this on page 61.

You can ask someone you trust to help you with this process.

We explain more about the people who can help you in Chapter 2.

Important note

If your case is reviewed, it doesn’t mean you will automatically be eligible

for the payment scheme.


2. What to do if you’re not happy with your offer

Some people will receive a Letter of Offer under the payment scheme.

This letter will tell you the amount of money we will pay you under the

scheme.

Some people will be happy with the amount we offer.

Others won’t be happy. They will think we should pay them more money.

Your legal advisor or financial counsellor will be able to help you work

out if the amount we’ve offered is right for your situation.

If you’re not happy with the amount we’ve offered, you can ask for a

review.

You can ask someone you trust to help you with this process.

We explain more about the people who can help you in Chapter 2.

You need to ask for the review before the date in your Letter of Offer.


Then we will write to you about the results of the review.

If you are not happy with our decision about the review, you can ask for

an external review.

Summary of the review process

Chapter 9: More information We have created a number of documents about the BSWAT Payment

Scheme:

About the BSWAT Payment Scheme: Information for Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs)

About the BSWAT Payment Scheme: Information for families, advocates and nominees

About the BSWAT Payment Scheme: Information for financial counsellors

About the BSWAT Payment Scheme: Information for legal advisors

These documents are all available on the website at

www.dss.gov.au/bswat-payment-scheme-resources

Or you can call the BSWAT Hotline on

1800 880 052 and ask for a copy of any of these documents. This is a

free call from landlines.

If you need to write to us, our address is:

Department of Social Services


GPO Box 9820

Hobart TAS 7001

Or you can email us at [email protected]


http://www.dss.gov.au/bswat-payment-scheme-resources

Who wrote this handbook?

This handbook was written by the Australian Government.

The editing and design was done by the Information Access Group.

Dr Sheridan Forster provided advice and feedback.

All of the content in this document except the images can be used under

a Creative Commons CC NC licence, version 3.0. You can find out more

about Creative Commons licenses at www.creativecommons.org

ISBN 978-1-925318-08-1

http://www.creativecommons.org/

Chapter 10: Space for your notes

Notes

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