Form · Social Security & Veterans' Entitlements
Explanation or formal review of a decision (SS351)
Link to Services Australia form SS351, the explanation or formal review of a decision form. ABSTUDY and Assistance for Isolated Children use form SY054.
- Kind
- Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Where it applies
- Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the official form at servicesaustralia.gov.au and the 2 authorities it cites, for Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Link to the official form. Licence: © Services Australia. Link only: download the current form from the official page each time; do not copy or adapt it.
Where this comes from
The official form is published by servicesaustralia.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-22.
When to use it
Use when a Centrelink decision needs an explanation or a formal review on form SS351. Do not use it for an ABSTUDY or Assistance for Isolated Children decision.
Used for these tasks
- Prepare the formal review request to an Authorised Review Officer
- Build the Centrelink or DVA decision, debt and review-deadline register
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
Yellow. A tool may compare a working note with the current official form and list what is missing. The lawyer downloads the form, completes it and lodges it.
AI may
- List the facts and documents the official page says to have ready.
- Compare a working checklist with the current downloaded form and mark gaps.
- Prepare a filing note that quotes only what the official page says.
AI must not
- Do not copy the official form into a new document or file a retyped version.
- Do not invent a form number, fee, time limit or rule that is not on the official page.
- Do not draft, settle or sign an affidavit, statutory declaration or other sworn evidence.
- Do not lodge the form or tell the client it has been filed.
The lawyer checks
- Download the current SS351 PDF from the form page. The page links a July 2026 file. The PDF itself was not read.
- The explanations page says a person can ask by phone, at a service centre, or by returning this form.
- Most claim and entitlement decisions should be reviewed within 13 weeks of being told of the decision. A debt decision can be reviewed at any time for almost all payments. Check the exceptions the page lists.
- ABSTUDY and Assistance for Isolated Children use SY054, not SS351.
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: © Services Australia. Link only: download the current form from the official page each time; do not copy or adapt it..
Read the full text
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The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Social Security & Veterans' Entitlements
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- DVA file: index of service, medical and claim records
- Application for first review of a Centrelink decision (Administrative Review Tribunal): completion guide
- Request for formal review of a Centrelink decision by an Authorised Review Officer (letter and submission)
- Request to waive or write off a Centrelink debt (special circumstances, administrative error, write-off)
- DVA personal information request: path, consent and 30-day aim
- Application for second review of a Tribunal decision (Administrative Review Tribunal, Centrelink and child support): guide
- ABSTUDY and AIC explanation or formal review (SY054)
- Request to pause or change Centrelink debt repayments
- Centrelink first review: what the Tribunal asks for and when
- Application for review of a veterans' entitlements or military compensation decision (Administrative Review Tribunal): guide
- Member of a couple: factors worksheet
- Request to Services Australia for a client's records and the debt calculation
- Centrelink second review: 28-day limit and extension
- Letter asking a treating practitioner for Disability Support Pension evidence
- Veterans' claim evidence checklist against the Statement of Principles
- Disability Support Pension medical evidence checklist mapped to the Impairment Tables
- Veterans' review pathway, time limits and permanent impairment evidence
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All precedents for Social Security & Veterans' Entitlements · Tasks and AI use in this area