There are a few ways to ask us for an internal review. You can:
- complete our form
- contact us by phone or at one of our offices
- send us a letter or email.
Remember, you need to ask for the internal review within 3 months after we inform you of our original decision.
We need to know why you’re asking for an internal review. This will help us understand your situation, and help us make the internal review decision. We’ll contact you if we need more information to make our decision.
To help us do the internal review, let us know:
- what decision you were expecting
- why you think we should make a different decision
- if there is any information you’ve already given us that you’d like us to reconsider
- if you have any new evidence, such as medical or therapy reports, you’d like us to consider.
We’ll note the day you ask us for an internal review. This will be either:
- the day you ask us in person or over the phone
- the day we receive your letter or email.
What if we need more information to do the internal review?
In some situations, we may need more information to make our decision. If so, we’ll contact you to confirm what information we need and why we need it.
You might also want to give us more information to help with the internal review. If you want to, you can also give us consent to discuss your situation with your doctor or treating health professional.
If we ask you for additional information or you want to provide more information, we’ll wait for up to 28 days. This means you’ll have time to give us the information we need.
If you give us the information we need earlier than 28 days, we can sometimes make the internal review decision sooner.
If we don’t get the information within 28 days, we need to make our decision based on the information we have. In some situations we can give you more time, so let us know if you need it.
You might give us information that’s different to what you’re asking for in the internal review. If so, we’ll work with you to decide what we should do.
For example, you may be a participant and need different supports in your plan because your support needs have changed. This may mean you need a plan reassessment or in some limited circumstances, a plan variation. We may consider those supports as part of our internal review.