Internal review and appeals | Resilient Homes Program

The internal review and appeals process

Homeowners can request a review if they are dissatisfied with one of the five Resilient Homes Program decisions made by the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) that are outlined below.  If a homeowner submits an internal review, and is dissatisfied with that outcome, the homeowner can then proceed to an appeal.

A review request must be lodged with RA within 90 days of receiving written notice of RA’s decision. If a homeowner is submitting an appeal following an internal review, the complete application must be lodged within 30 days of receiving written notice of the internal review decision.

Late applications will generally not be accepted unless the homeowner can demonstrate there are extenuating circumstances. These extenuating circumstances must be submitted in writing by the homeowner to demonstrate why a late application should be accepted by RA. 

Decisions for which homeowners can seek an internal review or appeal

• Decision 1: RA has decided, after assessment, that a homeowner does not qualify for assistance under the Resilient Homes Program and the homeowner disagrees with that assessment. 
• Decision 2:  RA makes an offer to a homeowner under a particular Resilient Homes Program stream (e.g. the Home Buyback stream, Resilient Measures stream) and the homeowner disagrees with that stream allocation.
• Decision 3:  RA makes an offer to a homeowner under the Home Buyback stream and the homeowner disagrees with the amount of the offer.
• Decision 4:  RA makes an offer to a homeowner under the Resilient Measures Stream (home raising, home relocation, home rebuild, home retrofit)– and the homeowner disagrees with the scope of works proposed in RA’s offer. 
• Decision 5: a homeowner has not been informed of RA’s decision following their application to the Resilient Homes Program and they have individual and exceptional circumstances (more information in the Individual and Exceptional Circumstances Policy).  An internal review or appeal cannot be lodged within 90 days of the application being initially made with the RA.

For all Resilient Homes Program decisions, a homeowner cannot request a review or appeal if:

• The Resilient Homes Program decision relates to ineligibility on the basis of the residential dwelling eligibility requirements in the Resilient Homes Program Guideline (unless the homeowner can provide evidence to the contrary to the RA). These requirements include the planning permissibility, flood water inundation and use of the dwelling for residential accommodation, or
• They are seeking reimbursement of expenditure associated with Resilient Measures works where the works were undertaken without appropriate or relevant approvals, for example planning or development approvals.

Circumstances in which a homeowner can seek an internal review or appeal

A homeowner may seek an internal review of, or appeal a Resilient Homes Program decision in the following three circumstances:

1. Additional information which RA previously did not have
   • Where they have additional information and evidence which RA did not have when making its decision
2. Incorrect information
   • Where they believe RA considered incorrect information as part of the Resilient Homes Program decision. The homeowner will need to identify the information they believe is incorrect and provide evidence to support their position. 
3. Individual and exceptional circumstances

A homeowner may request an internal review or appeal of Resilient Homes Program decisions 1, 2 and 5 (listed above) in accordance with RA’s Individual and Exceptional Circumstances Policy. A homeowner may be asked to provide relevant supporting evidence if this evidence is not provided when the review is sought.

Please note that individual and exceptional circumstances cannot be used to seek and internal review or appeal about a scope of works for Resilient Measures works (home raising, home relocation, home rebuild, home retrofit), the value of a Home Buyback offer or where the property is ineligible on the basis of residential dwelling eligibility requirements (Decisions 3 and 4).

For more information, read the Resilient Homes Program Individual and Exceptional Circumstances Policy (PDF 136.34KB).

How an internal review works

Where one of the above circumstances applies, Homeowners can request an internal review of a Resilient Homes Program decision within 90 days of receiving written notice of that decision. 

Homeowners can request an internal review and a member of the Resilient Homes Program team will open an internal review form in SmartyGrants and provide them with a link.

An internal review cannot be lodged after an offer has been accepted and signed.

RA may contact the homeowner during the process to discuss the internal review or to collect more information.

RA can decide not to conduct an internal review and progress an internal review application to the appeals stage if it determines that specialised experience of the Independent Appeals Panel is needed.

If the homeowner disagrees with the outcome of an internal review, they have 30 days to submit a complete application appealing the internal review decision, provided there are relevant circumstances.

More information about the internal review process is available at Resilient Homes Program Appeals Process Policy (PDF 132.31KB).

How an appeal works

Where one of the circumstances above applies, a homeowner can appeal a Resilient Homes Program decision within 30 days from the date they receive written notice of the internal review decision.

A homeowner must submit an internal review and receive a decision on that review before an appeal application can be submitted. However, if RA considers that a matter is best dealt with at appeal, because of specialised experience of the Appeals Panel, the can progress a review straight to the appeals stage.

An Appeal cannot be lodged after an offer has been accepted and signed.

RA aims to provide homeowners with the outcome of their review/appeal within 90 days of request.

Due to volume and complexity, some internal reviews and appeals may take longer than others to complete.

RA will keep the homeowner updated if the internal review or appeal is expected to take longer to complete.

For more information about the review and appeals process, please view the Resilient Homes Program Appeals Process Policy (PDF 132.31KB).

Assistance in submitting an internal review or appeals application

Homeowners can ask for assistance to complete an internal review or appeals application form by:

• visiting a Community Pop-up (view locations and opening hours)
• contacting one of the recovery support service providers for Northern Rivers homeowners - locations can be found at Recovery Support Services (RSS)).

Assistance and advice on internal reviews and appeals can also be obtained from community legal services and Legal Aid NSW.

Application costs

Homeowners will not generally be reimbursed for any costs that they incur for making an internal review or appeal by RA, even if their internal review or appeal is successful.

However, for homeowners who have received a buyback offer and are seeking an internal review or appeal of their offer on the basis that they disagree with the valuation, RA has included financial assistance in their offer that could be used by a homeowner requesting an internal review or making an appeal.

For example:
•  the compensation package includes an allowance of $5,000 including GST for reasonable valuation costs, and
•  homeowners can access up to $3,000 including GST for independent legal and financial advice about the RA's offer and conveyancing costs.  This amount is in addition to RA’s compensation package.
 

Complaints to the NSW Ombudsman

If a homeowner is not satisfied with the outcome of an appeal, other options include making a complaint to the NSW Ombudsman. The NSW Ombudsman handles certain complaints only, including:

• dishonest, unfair or unreasonable behaviour
• lack of transparency with a decision
• unfair or flawed policies or procedures
• unreasonable delays
• failure to act on complaints
• failure to reply to correspondence
• failure to manage conflicts of interest.

For more information

• Resilient Homes Program appeals policy (PDF 132.31KB)
• Individual and Exceptional Circumstances policy (PDF 136.34KB)