Video explains Appeals Guest Placement Program
DSS made a video explaining the Appeals Guest Placement Program to Aboriginal and Islander Officers (AILOs). The program helped AILOs learn how to help customers make appeals.
... we do not promote the appeals system very well, and a lot of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers are unaware that they do have the ability to appeal against a decision.
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The Legal Services Division of the Department of Social Security (DSS) made this video to explain the appeals process for customers who wanted the government to review a decision. It was part of a series called Top Law, which taught staff about various legal issues that affected their work.
The first part of this episode introduces the Appeals Guest Placement Program to Aboriginal and Islander Liaison Officers (AILOs).
The pilot program was a 2-week placement where AILOs could work alongside Authorised Review Officers and witness the Social Security Appeals Tribunal making decisions. AILOs would also learn how to help customers make and resolve an appeal.
Alex Marques presents the video with 2 guests, Stephen Garrett from the Legal Services Division and Robyn Forester from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Section.
Forester, a Yuwibara and Australian South Sea Islander woman, says the Appeals Guest Placement Program aims to help more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers use the appeals process. She says people aren’t aware of the system or are too scared to make an appeal.
The video includes an interview with Sharon Blaney, an AILO working in Caboolture, Queensland. Blaney had been part of the pilot of the Appeals Guest Placement Program. She talks about what she learned in the program and says it helped her develop her skills as an AILO.
This video is an example of DSS identifying a gap in the knowledge of customers and seeking to better inform them. It shows the department working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through AILOs to better help communities. However, this pilot did not continue to be an ongoing program.
Knowledge of the appeals process was significant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers, particularly for people who had past negative experiences with bureaucracy.
The Social Security Appeals Tribunal was established in 1975 and was made a statutory authority with decision-making capacity in 1988.
This video was edited to a short excerpt to only show people who gave their permission for its use. The full video and original VHS are held in the Department of Social Services Library.
Permissions
Permissions to include this excerpt were granted by Sharon Blaney and Robyn Forester.
Citation
Department of Social Security (1995) ‘The Appeals Guest Placement Program for AILOs’, Top Law, Corporate Television Unit, Department of Social Security, Canberra.