Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY (ADMINISTRATION) ACT 1999 - SECT 8

                   In administering the social security law, the Secretary is to have regard to:

                     (a)  the desirability of achieving the following results:

                              (i)  the ready availability to members of the public of advice and information services relating to income support generally and to the social security payments that are available;

                             (ii)  the ready availability of publications containing clear statements about income support entitlements and procedural requirements;

                            (iii)  the delivery of services under the law in a fair, courteous, prompt and cost-efficient manner;

                            (iv)  the development of a process of monitoring and evaluating delivery of programs with an emphasis on the impact of programs on social security recipients;

                             (v)  the establishment of procedures to ensure that abuses of the social security system are minimised; and

                     (b)  the special needs of disadvantaged groups in the community; and

                     (c)  the need to be responsive to the interests of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to cultural and linguistic diversity; and

                     (d)  the importance of the system of review of decisions under the social security law; and

                     (e)  the need to ensure that social security recipients have adequate information regarding the system of review of decisions under the social security law; and

                      (f)  the need to apply government policy in accordance with the law and with due regard to relevant decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal.