How to appeal a social welfare decision

To get a social welfare payment, you must apply for it. The decision on your application is made by a Deciding Officer in the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

If your application for a social welfare payment is refused, you will be given the reason it was refused in writing.

If you think you have been wrongly refused a social welfare payment, you can:

• Ask the DSP to review its decision
• Appeal the decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO)

If you choose to appeal a decision to the SWAO, you must do so within 21 days of the date of the decision letter.

If you were correctly refused a social welfare payment and your circumstances change, you should make a new application instead of asking for a review or making an appeal.

There is no fee for asking for a review or making an appeal.

It depends on your circumstances whether you should request a review by the DSP or appeal a decision to the SWAO. The type of social welfare payment and time limit may mean you are only able to request a review. However, if you have the option to request a review and appeal, you may choose to do either one or both.

What is the difference between a review and an appeal?

The differences between a review and appeal are as follows:

Requesting a review

A review is when you ask the section in the DSP that made the original decision to examine your application again.

For example, if you are refused Carer’s Allowance, you ask the Carer’s Allowance section in the DSP to review your application. If you are refused Disability Allowance, you should contact the Disability Allowance section in the DSP to review your application.

You should ask for a review in writing and include:

• The reason you want a review and why you disagree with the DSP decision
• Any evidence, if you can. For example, you could provide more medical evidence from a consultant or specialist to help show that you meet the criteria for Disability Allowance or Carer’s Allowance.

You do not need to wait for the outcome of a review by the DSP to request an appeal. An appeal to the SWAO is a separate request.

You can appeal if you are unhappy about any decision on a payment that is covered by the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

For example, you can appeal:

• If you are refused a social welfare payment
• If you think the rate of payment was not assessed correctly

You can appeal a decision on most social welfare payments to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO), but not all of them. You can see a list of social welfare allowances and benefits covered by the SWAO (pdf).

Supplementary Welfare Allowance

The SWAO deals with appeals for some payments under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme. It does not deal with SWA payments such as the Additional Needs Payment or any other once-off payment.

What can I not appeal?

You cannot appeal a decision on social welfare payments that are not set out in law. For example, you cannot appeal the Fuel Allowance and the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.

You can see a full list of social welfare payments not covered by the SWAO.

There is no formal appeals process for these payments, but if you are unhappy with a decision you can ask for the decision to be reviewed by the section in the DSP that dealt with your application – see ’Requesting a review’ above.

If you want to appeal a decision on a social welfare payment, you make your appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office provides an independent and fair appeals process. It will examine your appeal to see if you are entitled to the social welfare payment under social welfare law.

To appeal a decision on your social welfare claim, you must fill in a Notice of Appeal Against a Social Welfare Decision form (pdf). It is also called an SWAO1 form.

In your appeal, you need to:

• Explain why you disagree with the decision
• Provide supporting documentation or proof – see ‘What information should I include’ below
• Submit your appeal within 21 days of the date on the decision letter

If you don’t have all the supporting documentation or proof ready, you must still submit your appeal within 21 days with as much documentation as you can. Let the SWAO know when you submit your appeal that you need more time to submit some documentation. You should forward the rest of your supporting documents as soon as possible.

For example, you may be waiting on a letter from your doctor or specialist setting out how your medical condition meets the rules for a disability payment.

The procedures for processing an appeal are set out in law.

Time limit to make an appeal

You have 21 days from the date on the letter notifying you of the decision on your application to submit your appeal.

The time limit of 21 days is set out in law and often strictly applied.

What if I miss the time limit to appeal?

If you don’t submit your appeal within 21 days, you can:

• Ask the SWAO for extra time to make your appeal. You will need good reasons for the delay and provide evidence, if you can.
• Ask the section in the DSP that made the original decision to review their decision. If that section reviews their decision and finds against you, or refuses to carry out a review, then you can appeal that decision to the SWAO within 21 days.

What information should I include in my appeal?

When you make an appeal, you need to show the SWAO that you met the conditions for the payment at the time of your application for that payment.

In your appeal, you must:

• Say why you think the decision was not correct
• Include copies of any evidence and documents you want to be considered (you should keep your original documents)
• Check that any medical evidence you submit covers your condition at the time of your original application
• Include a copy of the letter you got from the DSP Deciding Officer that told you of the decision
• Include your PPS number in the correspondence

If you are unable to include all your evidence within 21 days, ask the SWAO for more time.

You can request an oral hearing at this stage - see ‘What is an oral hearing?’ below.

How do I submit my appeal?

You can submit your appeal to the SWAO by post or online.

By post

To appeal a decision, download and complete the Notice of Appeal Against a Social Welfare decision form (SWA01) pdf. You can also get a paper form from your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office.

You can post the completed SWAO1 form and any relevant supporting documents (for example, your decision letter from the section) to the SWAO to:

• Social Welfare Appeals Office, D'Olier House, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2, D02 XY31.

Online

You can submit your appeal online using MyWelfare if you have a verified MyGovID account.

Note: You should make a copy of your appeal before submitting online using MyWelfare. MyWelfare does not provide you with a copy of your application.

If you have submitted your appeal on MyWelfare or by post to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, you can view the current status of your appeal on MyWelfare.

You are notified that the SWAO got your appeal

The Social Welfare Appeals Office will let you know that they have your appeal. You will be notified on your MyWelfare account if you submitted your appeal online. Otherwise, you will be notified by email or post.

The SWAO contacts the DSP

The SWAO will contact the section in the DSP that assessed your original application and let them know that you have appealed their decision.

The DSP reviews their decision

The section in the DSP examines your appeal and reviews their decision. In some cases, new evidence is examined by a social welfare inspector, or by a medical assessor, if the appeal is about an illness or disability-related payment.

At this stage, DSP can make a revised decision on your application, but only if the decision would be in your favour.

If the decision is in your favour, the appeal is considered to be resolved. This means that your appeal was successful and the SWAO takes no further action.

If the original decision remains the same, it is sent back to the SWAO to decide on the appeal. The DSP section must then send any documents relevant to your application and your appeal to the SWAO.

Your appeal is examined by an Appeal Officer

Your case will now be examined by an Appeals Officer in the SWAO.

In general, appeals are dealt with in the order in which they are received. However, Supplementary Welfare Allowance appeals (including Rent Supplement) are prioritised.

How the Appeals Officer examines your case

The Appeals Officer considers the application as if it was being decided on for the first time.

The Appeals Officer will consider all relevant evidence. This can include:

• The grounds of your appeal including any documentation you provided
• Reports of DSP investigating officers and medical assessors
• The submission of the DSP Deciding Officer who made the original decision
• Any facts emerging from the presentation of evidence at the oral hearing

The Appeals Officer may also ask you to provide further information on the appeal, and can allow changes to the Notice of Appeal Against a Social Welfare Decision Form (pdf).

The Appeals Officer can decide your appeal based on written evidence or following an oral hearing.

A decision based on written evidence

If the Appeals Officer thinks that the appeal can be decided on the basis of the documents available and without the need for an oral hearing, this is called deciding on the appeal summarily.

This means it is important that your grounds for appeal and documentary evidence are submitted with the Notice of Appeal Against a Social Welfare Decision form (pdf), if possible.

However, at any time during the appeal process, if you have additional information that could help your case you should give it to the Appeals Officer.

An oral hearing is when an Appeals Officer hears your reasons for your appeal from you in-person. This can take place at a set location, virtually, or by phone. Oral hearings are held in private and cannot be recorded.

At the hearing you will be given the opportunity to set out your case and to question any evidence given by the DSP. If you have a representative, they can do this for you.

You can request an oral hearing when you submit your Notice of Appeal Against a Social Welfare Decision Form (pdf). You should include the reasons why you want one. Generally, you will get and oral hearing if you request it.

If the Appeals Officer thinks that an oral hearing is needed, you will be notified of the date in advance.

If an oral hearing is refused you will be given the reasons why.

Who can go to an oral hearing?

You can go alone or bring someone with you for support.

You can have someone act on your behalf at the oral hearing. This person is called a representative. You must ask the SWAO for permission, if you want to bring a representative to act on your behalf. Your representative could be from an organisation like the Citizens Information Service, a welfare rights service, or it could be a friend or family member who is 18 years or older.

The Appeals Officer will be at the oral hearing. The DSP may also send a representative.

Where are oral hearings held?

If you live in Dublin or the surrounding areas, hearings are held at the Social Welfare Appeals Office (see address in ‘Contact details’ below). If you live outside Dublin, hearings are held at a set location.

The Appeals Officer will give you their decision in writing. The decision is also sent to the DSP.

If the decision of the Appeals Officer is in your favour, the DSP must act on it. If it is not in your favour, the Appeals Officer will explain the reasons for the decision.

Generally, the decision of an Appeals Officer is final. However, an Appeals Officer can revise their decision if there is new evidence, new facts or there is any relevant change of circumstances after a decision is made.

If you don't agree with the Appeals Officer's decision

If you think there was a mistake made in relation to the law or the facts of the case, you can appeal the decision of the Appeals Officer to the Chief Appeals Officer.

To do this you need to send a written request for a revised decision to the Chief Appeals Officer in the SWAO and include the new evidence.

Your written request should state the grounds on which you are seeking a revised decision and why you believe a mistake has been made regarding the law or the facts.

Appeal to higher authorities

If you disagree with the final decision of the SWAO, you can ask the Office of the Ombudsman to examine your case.

The Ombudsman can:

• Examine complaints about the actions of the SWAO
• Investigate complaints about the everyday administrative activities of the SWAO

You can appeal the decision to the High Court on a point of law, or seek a judicial review in the High Court if you think that the appeal was not fairly conducted. You should get legal advice in this situation.

If you are involved in an industrial dispute

If you are refused Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance because of an industrial dispute at your place of employment, you can contact the Social Welfare Tribunal.

The Social Welfare Tribunal provides a second level of appeal after an appeal to the SWAO. However, you can also appeal directly to the Tribunal without first going through the SWAO.

There is no fee to appeal a social welfare decision to the SWAO.

If you have to travel to attend an oral hearing, the SWAO will compensate you for any reasonable travel expenses. You can also be compensated for any loss of earnings, if you have to take time off work to attend.

The SWAO can make an award to a representative such as a solicitor if they accompany you to the oral hearing.

You can get help with making an appeal from your local Citizens Information Service.

Further information is also available from:

• Social Welfare Appeals Office website
• Social Welfare Appeals Office
• Or your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office