Amended regulations governing the process for lodging applications for reconsideration or the appeal of unfavourable decisions by the Social Security Agency about an application for a grant have been published in Government Gazette No 34618, 19 September 2011.

The Regulations stipulate that the review team which will consider applications for reconsideration must be headed by a senior official and that the Agency must make a decision, which must be conveyed to the applicant in writing within 90 days of receiving the application. The written notification of the decision must include reasons for the decision.

The Regulations make provision for the appointment of an Independent Tribunal to consider appeals. The Tribunal must be made up of a legal practitioner, a medical practitioner (in the case of medically-grounded grants) and a member of civil society. The various members are assigned specific roles. For example, the civil society member’s role is to advise the Tribunal on the socio-economic aspects of the appeal.

These Regulations comes into effect on 3 October 2011.

WEB LINKS FOR THIS ARTICLE

Click here to view the amended Social Assistance Regulations.