Form · Social Security & Veterans' Entitlements
Application for first review of a Centrelink decision (Administrative Review Tribunal): completion guide
Link to the Tribunal's first review form for Centrelink decisions, with a guide to the Authorised Review Officer step, the decisions the Tribunal can change, reasons, signatures and consent to disclose, the paid parental leave time limit, and no fee.
- Kind
- Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the official form at art.gov.au and the 3 authorities it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Link to the official form. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Administrative Review Tribunal). Link only: use the current form or online application from the Tribunal each time; do not copy or adapt it.
Where this comes from
The official form is published by art.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-18.
When to use it
Use when acting for a person who disagrees with a Centrelink decision that has been reviewed by a Centrelink Authorised Review Officer (or, in most cases, a Subject Matter Expert) and wants the Tribunal to review it.
Used for these tasks
- Build the Centrelink or DVA decision, debt and review-deadline register
- Prepare the tribunal submissions on a Centrelink first review
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may check the application and attachments against the Tribunal's list and draft brief reasons from the lawyer's analysis for the lawyer to settle; the lawyer checks every statement in each application and keeps the person's own account in their own words.
AI may
- Check the application has every item the Tribunal asks for and list what is missing
- Calculate the lodgment deadline from the date the decision was received, for the lawyer to confirm against the decision letter
- Draft brief reasons why the decision is wrong from the lawyer's analysis, for the lawyer to settle
- Rebuild the debt or rate calculation from payment and income records, with sources, for the lawyer to check
AI must not
- Must not decide whether the decision is reviewable or what the grounds are
- Must not write the person's statement of their circumstances or evidence in their words
- Must not process health, disability or income records in a tool not approved for sensitive information
The lawyer checks
- The decision has been reviewed by an Authorised Review Officer or Subject Matter Expert; if not, that review comes first
- Lodged within the time limit in the review decision (for paid parental leave reviews, within 28 days)
- Reasons why the person disagrees given; the Tribunal cannot start the review without them
- Form signed by the applicant, by the representative where there is one, and the consent to disclose personal information signed
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Official form
Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Administrative Review Tribunal). Link only: use the current form or online application from the Tribunal each time; do not copy or adapt it..
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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