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About the BSWAT Payment Scheme

Information for supported employees – Easy Read Handbook Updated February 2017

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

the BSWAT Payment Scheme (the scheme) is, and what you need to

do.

The information has been written in an easy way to help you understand

the scheme. Please read this handbook carefully.

If you need help to read the handbook, 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 8.

The handbook explains the rights you have under the law.

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.

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

You can call the BSWAT Payment Scheme information line on

1800 799 515.

This is a free call from landlines.

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

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Department of Social Services

BSWAT Payment Scheme

GPO BOX 9820

Hobart TAS 7001

Or you can email us at [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

Update!Since this handbook was first written, some important changes have

taken place.

On 16 December 2016, a judge of the Federal Court of Australia made

a decision about a legal case about the BSWAT. This case was called a

class action.

The class action has now been settled.

The people who were involved in the legal case have agreed on what

should happen.

We explain this in detail in Chapter 5.

The BSWAT Payment Scheme is now the only way to get a payment

from the class action.

We explain what the scheme is, and how you can take part, on the

following pages.

We highly recommend that you read this handbook carefully and, if it’s

right for you, register for the scheme before 30 April 2017.

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What’s in this handbook? Important information 2

Update! 4

What’s in this handbook? 5

Words we use 9

Chapter 1: About the BSWAT Payment Scheme 12

The story so far 12

How much money will people get? 13

Will the BSWAT Payment Scheme affect your wages now? 13

Your current job 14

Receiving the Disability Support Pension 14

Paying tax 14

Notes 15

Chapter 2: People who can help you 16

Family and friends 16

Choosing an advocate 17

Choosing a nominee 17

Getting legal advice and financial counselling 18

Notes 19

Chapter 3: Who can take part? 20

Working out if you can apply for the BSWAT Payment Scheme 21

Emma’s story 22

Mark’s story 23

What if you don’t agree with a decision? 24

Notes 25

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Chapter 4: How is the payment worked out? 26

How BSWAT was used to work out wages 26

How the BSWAT Payment Scheme will work 26

Notes 28

Chapter 5: Your legal options 29

The BSWAT class action 29

Settlement of the class action 29

What if you opted out of the class action? 30

Finding out more about the class action 31

Notes 32

Chapter 6: The steps in the process 33

Important dates 34

A diagram of how the scheme works 35

Registering 36

Would you like to register? 37

Applying for a payment 38

Receiving an offer 39

Accepting an offer 40

Declining an offer 41

Asking for a review 41

What if you change your mind? 41

Notes 43

Chapter 7: Legal advice and financial counselling 44

Meeting with a financial counsellor or legal advisor 45

Who pays for the legal advice and financial counselling? 47

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Which legal advisor or financial counsellor can you use? 47

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

counsellor? 48

Asking for more time 48

Notes 49

Chapter 8: Asking for a review 50

Internal review 50

External review 52

1. What to do if you’ve been told you can’t take part in the

payment scheme and you don’t agree 53

2. What to do if you’re not happy with your offer 54

Summary of the review process 55

Notes 56

Chapter 9: More information 57

Who wrote this handbook? 58

Chapter 10: Space for your notes 59

Notes 59

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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 ‘scheme’.

Class action

A case started in court by 1 person for a group of people with the same

problems.

Competency

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

Daily supportWhen the staff in the ADE help you in your work every day.

Financial counsellor

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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.

Legal personal representative

Someone who is managing a person’s will or their finances and property

and making decisions on behalf of the person. It will usually be a family

member, friend or a legal advisor.

Letter of Offer

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

from the scheme.

Opting out

Letting the court know that you don’t want to be part of the class action.

Nominee

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

you, in relation to the scheme.

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 scheme.

Supported Wage System

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

some ADEs.

Settlement

When people who have taken a case to court agree on a solution to the

problem outside of court.

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Chapter 1: About the BSWAT Payment Scheme The 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 and have an

intellectual impairment.

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 or the scheme.

A law has been passed about the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

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The law is called the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool

(BSWAT) Payment Scheme Act 2015.

The scheme has started.

It will end on 31 December 2018.

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 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 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 scheme will not affect your wages now.

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

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Your current job

The 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

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.

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Notes

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Chapter 2: People who can help you There's quite a lot to understand about the scheme.

There are people who can talk to you about your options.

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 scheme, you may need to show

us that you have received advice from a financial counsellor.

You can also choose to speak to a legal advisor, but you don’t have to.

It’s up to you.

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 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.

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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 decisions.

They must agree to be your nominee for the scheme.

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

For the scheme, 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.

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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 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 scheme

and your options.

Financial counselling is provided by a financial counsellor.

This person can help you understand how the scheme will affect your

money situation.

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

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Notes

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

The 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 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.

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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

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 19.

You worked for an ADE 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 or

other payment 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.

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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.

You can apply to the scheme on behalf of someone who has

passed away.

This means that, if someone who would have been eligible for the

scheme has died, their legal personal representative can apply to

the scheme.

A legal personal representative is someone who is managing the

person’s will or their finances and property. It will usually be a family

member, friend or a legal representative of the person who has died.

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.

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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 in

the future.

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.

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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.

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Notes

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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 score made up half the person’s wage and the

competency score made up the other half.

The result was then 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 70 per cent of this amount.

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.

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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.

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Notes

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

the BSWAT.

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

The BSWAT class action

Some people were part of 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.

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 was seeking compensation for himself and other people who were

paid using the BSWAT.

Settlement of the class action

Recently, Tyson and the Government agreed about what should happen

in the class action.

Together, they decided to settle Tyson’s case out of court.

This means that they did not ask the court to decide who should win

the case.

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This is called a settlement.

Tyson and the Government have agreed to several things in the

settlement.

Tyson and the Government agreed that the Government would change

the law so that people would get more money from the scheme.

Now, people will get about 70% of the money that was claimed in the

class action.

Before the law was changed, they would have received about 50%.

Now that the law has been changed, Tyson and the Government agreed

that the class action should end.

On 16 December 2016, the judge agreed to the settlement.

Group members in the class action can now get a payment.

The only way to get a payment is to register and apply through the

BSWAT Payment Scheme.

It’s important to know that, if you accept a payment, you won’t be able to

take part in any other legal case about the BSWAT in the future.

What if you opted out of the class action?

Some people said that they didn’t want to be part of the class action.

They filled in a form, and they sent it to the Court.

This process was called ‘opting out’.

Even if you opted out of the class action, you may still be able to get a

payment from the scheme.

We suggest that you call the BSWAT Payment Scheme information line

to find out if you can apply to the scheme.

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The number is 1800 799 515.

You can also get legal advice to help you work out if you can apply to

the scheme.

You can get free legal advice if you want to. The Government will pay for

legal advice up to a set amount.


Some people who have opted out may choose to start their own legal

case about the BSWAT.

If they do this, they will need to pay the legal costs for that case.

And they won’t be able to accept a payment from the scheme.

If you accept a payment from the scheme, you can’t take part in any

legal case about the BSWAT in the future.

Finding out more about the class action

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

You can find documents for this case on the Federal Court website at:

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

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Notes

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

follow every step.

You need to:

1. register with the scheme

2. apply for a payment

3. receive a Letter of Offer

4. get financial counselling if your offer is over $1,000

5. get legal advice if that’s right for you

6. 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 note! Registering and applying for the scheme is the only way to get a

payment from the class action.

You won’t receive a payment from the class action if you don’t register

and apply through the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

We explain the class action in detail in Chapter 5.

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Important dates

What will happen? When will it happen?

Applications open 1 July 2015

Registrations close 30 April 2017

Applications close 30 November 2017

Acceptance of offer By 31 December 2018

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

Payment scheme ends 31 December 2018

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A diagram of how the scheme works

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Registering

No one has to register for the payment scheme if they don’t want to.

It’s completely voluntary.

But we think that registering for the payment scheme is a good idea.

It means that you can find out more about the scheme, and what it will

mean for you.

Registering is easy.

And, as we explain in Chapter 1, it won’t cause any problems for your

pension or your current job.

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.

When you register, we will send you information and forms so that you

can apply for a payment.

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Would you like to register?

If you want to register, please tell us.

You can register by:

Phoning the BSWAT payment scheme information line on 1800 799 515.

This is a free call from landlines.

Emailing us via [email protected]

Completing an online form on the website at www.bswat.dss.gov.au

Important date: Registrations are due by 30 April 2017.

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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 2017.

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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 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 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.


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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.

Some people who receive an offer over $1,000 will need to provide a

certificate from a financial counsellor. We explain how to do this on page

44.

Some people will choose to get legal advice. If you do this, you also

need to provide a legal advice certificate. We explain how to do this on

page 44.

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

any legal proceedings about the BSWAT in the future.

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

can go into the bank account you have already listed with the

Department of Human Services – for example, where your Disability

Support Pension is paid.

Or, you can list another bank account on the acceptance form.

The payment will happen automatically.

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

is accepted.

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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.

Asking for a review

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

you can ask for a review.

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

you can ask for a review.

Or, if you’re not happy with the payment 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 33.

The timing is important.

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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.

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Notes

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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 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 scheme will affect your

money situation.

Some people must receive financial counselling in order to receive a

payment from the scheme. These are people who:

receive an offer that is over $1,000

don’t have someone who helps manage their finances, like a nominee, administrator or other person who supports them to make decisions.

If your payment offer is less than $1000, you or your nominee can

choose not to see a financial counsellor.

You can choose whether you need a legal advisor. You may decide that

it’s a good idea to get some independent legal advice about accepting

an offer from the scheme – this is up to you.

We explain more about making these choices on the following pages.

When you receive the Letter of Offer, you will find a number

of attachments.

These include the certificates that you, the financial counsellor and,

if you choose to see one, the legal advisor must sign.

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If you choose not to see a financial counsellor, you or your nominee will

need to sign the certificate.

If you choose not to see a legal advisor, you or your nominee will need

to sign the certificate.

You’ll receive more information about this when you receive the Letter

of Offer.

If you choose to see a financial counsellor or legal advisor,

the Government will pay for these services, up to a set amount.

Meeting with a financial counsellor or legal advisor

As we explain on page 17, some people must meet with a financial

counsellor.

And some people will choose to meet with a legal advisor.

If this applies to you, 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.

You will need to bring some paperwork to the meeting, such as:

this handbook

the Letter of Offer you have received from the 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

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details of your Disability Support Pension.

The financial counsellor or legal advisor will know about the 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.

Our contact details are in Chapter 9.

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 decisions are up to you.

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

The financial counsellor or legal advisor will sign a certificate to confirm

that they’ve discussed the payment offer under the scheme.

After the meeting, it is the role of the financial counsellor to lodge the

signed certificates with the Department.

If you choose not to receive financial counselling or legal advice, you will need to sign and send the relevant attachments that were sent to you with the Letter of Offer.

Remember: you don’t have to meet with a legal advisor if you don’t want

to. This is up to you.

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And you only have to meet with a financial counsellor if your offer is

over $1,000.

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.

After the meeting it is the role of the financial counsellor and legal

advisor to lodge the signed certificates with the Department. This will

also help to process their payment for services.

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.

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

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.

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 get them to send the signed

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

Asking for more time

If you need more time to meet with the financial counsellor or legal

advisor, or to get the certificates, you need to tell us.


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.

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Notes

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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 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 types of review:

1. an internal review

2. an external review.

You must have an internal review prior to 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.

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If you want to ask us for an internal review you should not accept

an offer.

If you apply for a review of the offer before the review deadline, a person

from the Department of Social Services will review the offer.

We will review the decision as soon as possible.

That person will consider why you think the offer is wrong and any other

evidence you provide to support what you are saying.

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

That person will then either:

decide that the result will stay the same

tell you that the result will change.

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

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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.


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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 51.

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 scheme.


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

Some people will receive a Letter of Offer under the 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.

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Summary of the review process

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Notes

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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 Payment Scheme information line on

1800 799 515 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]

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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 license, version 3.0. You can find out more

about Creative Commons licenses at www.creativecommons.org

ISBN 978-1-925318-29-6

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http://www.creativecommons.org/

Chapter 10: Space for your notes

Notes

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