Contents
Student allowance : Contents

Appeals

If a student disagrees with a decision made as the result of a statutory review, they have the right to lodge an appeal with the Student Allowance Appeal Authority (the Authority).

The Authority is a Tribunal supported by the Ministry of Justice.

The student must lodge an appeal with the Authority in writing within 21 days after the decision. The Authority has discretion to accept appeals received outside that timeframe.

The Authority will make a decision after considering any submissions by the student and MSD.

The Notice of Appeal form is on the Ministry of Justice website. See: Student Allowance Appeal Authority

Any appeals received by MSD must be forwarded immediately to the Ministry of Justice.

Student Allowance Appeal Authority

The Authority considers the appeal and any submissions it receives. It determines the relevant issues, questions and circumstances, and either confirms the decision, or makes a different decision that the Chief Executive may have made.

The Authority can refuse to consider any part of an appeal. This includes situations where it considers an appeal:

  • could not reasonably succeed or
  • is likely to cause prejudice or delay or
  • is frivolous or designed to annoy MSD or the Authority or
  • would be an abuse of the appeal process

The Authority can issue practice notes as a guide for the Authority and those involved in appeals heard by the Authority. Any practice notes must be consistent with provisions of the Education and Training Act 2020 and the Student Allowances Regulations 1998. The Authority has not issued any practice notes since this provision was enacted in late 2018.

The Ministry of Justice provides administrative support to the Authority to enable it to carry out its functions.

The Ministry of Justice must publish information on a website about:

  • the purpose of the Authority and
  • how to make an appeal and
  • how to find out about the progress of an appeal and when a decision may be expected

In addition, the Ministry of Justice must publish all written decisions of the Authority on a website, unless there is good reason not to.

For more information see:

Reviews and Appeals
Statutory reviews
Administrative reviews
Student Allowance appeals
Student Allowance Appeal Authority

Legislation

  • Appeals Part 6 Student Allowances Regulations 1998
  • Composition and operation of Student Allowance Appeal Authorities Schedule 10 Education and Training Act 2020
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Discretion is often expressed in law by the use of the word "may" as opposed to the use of "shall" or "must".

Exercising discretion involves the use of reason and judgement to make a decision within a "range" of decisions that are potentially available to the decision maker.

The extent of the discretion available to the decision maker depends on the particular provision.

Discretion involves:

Guidelines for the procedures that must be followed in any proceedings before the Student Allowance Appeal Authority.