As there are two levels of review available this is referred to as a first review or otherwise commonly as a tier one review.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal is completely independent of Centrelink. The Social Services and Child Support Division of the ATT conducts first reviews and primarily reviews decisions made by Centrelink and the Child Support Agency (both are part of Services Australia) and makes determinations on whether they have been made correctly. Its decisions are binding on both parties.

In reviewing the decision the AAT will have regard to the information supplied to it by Centrelink and that supplied by the person seeking the review. Whether or not Centrelink have made the correct decision will depend on whether they have followed the Social Security legislation.

An application to the AAT for review can only be made once the internal review process has been completed, see Internal Review. To apply for an AAT review a person will need to contact the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. An application for a review can be completed over the phone or in person, but it is better to do it in writing. Application forms (including an online application form) can be accessed via the Administrative Appeals Tribunal website.

Review by the AAT is usually done by a hearing. These hearings are fairly informal and the person applying (or someone on their behalf) can present their version of events to the tribunal.

Following the hearing the AAT will provide a written statement of their decision, outlining the reasons for it.

Before considering appealing to the AAT it is a good idea to get some independent advice from either the Legal Services Commission or a community legal service. Furthermore, consideration should be given to making a Freedom of Information application for a copy of their file, see How to Make a Request for a Centrelink File.

In order to be eligible for any back pay to which a person may be entitled, they must appeal within 13 weeks after receiving notification of the decision [Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) s 147].

If a person is unhappy with the decision of the AAT, or the AAT agreed with the decision of Centrelink, they can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a second review (‘tier two review’) see Review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Second Review).