What you can and cannot appeal at the Housing Appeals Committee

Who can appeal

You can ask the Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) to review a decision if you are a client of a NSW social housing provider. These include:

• Homes NSW (public housing)
• Registered Community Housing Providers.

Before you make an appeal to HAC

Please make sure that you do the following before appealing to us. 

1. Check to see if you can appeal the decision because not all decisions can be appealed. 
2. Your social housing provider has completed a First Tier Appeal and internal review of the decision.
3. Make sure your appeal is within the allowable period. If you are a client of community housing, you will have to contact your provider.
4. The decision you are appealing has not been subject to an order by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

Decisions that can be appealed 

You can appeal the following matters:

• Social Housing Eligibility (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Housing Entitlements (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Priority Housing Eligibility (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Eligibility for Temporary Accommodation (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Private Rental Subsidy Cancellation (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Succession of Tenancy (Community Housing only)
• Recognition as a Tenant (Public Housing only)
• Housing Assistance for Elderly (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Offers of Accommodation (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Rentstart Bond Loans (Public Housing only)
• Transfer (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Relocating Tenants for Management Purposes (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Rental Subsidy (Charging rent) (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Modification to Property (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Mutual Exchange (Public Housing only)
• Absence from Dwelling (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Length of Lease (Public Housing only)
• Tenant Charges (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Joint Tenancies (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Aboriginality Public Housing/Community Housing
• Former Tenant Category (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Antisocial Behaviour Strikes (Public Housing/Community Housing)
• Water Charges (Public Housing/Community Housing).

Decisions you cannot appeal

Charges and assistance

• Decisions to apply the vacant bedroom charge.
• Amount of assistance provided under Private Rental Subsidy.

Decisions not related to you or your household

• You cannot appeal a decision not related to your household.

Housing provider policies and administrative matters

You cannot appeal a housing provider’s:

• policies
• internal administration and funding.

Matters that are the responsibility for other tribunals

We cannot hear matters that are the responsibility of other bodies or tribunals (such as repairs and maintenance, which are the responsibility of NCAT).

Service complaints 

You cannot appeal:

• the way a service is provided
• programs not related to the provision of a service
• decisions to provide services on an ‘out of guidelines’ basis
• decisions about home purchase assistance services
• decisions about providing more than the maximum service or benefit under a housing provider’s policy.