The Effects of Misleading and Inadequate Information Given to Australian Social Security Applicants

Abstract

Social Security law is not easy. Comments to that effect in judicial opinion and more general commentary abound throughout the common law world: in the United States, the legislation has been described by a Supreme Court judge in one leading case¹ as, “… among the most intricate ever drafted …” and further reference was made to its, “… byzantine construction …” In an earlier case,² mention was made of its, “… labyrinthine complexity …” and it was stated that, “such unintelligibility is doubly unfortunate in the case of a statute dealing with the rights of poor people.” A commentator from the field of social work in the United States, Briar, has noted³ both the “… elaborate complexity” of the determination of eligibility as well as the low visibility of agency decision making processes. Handler has similarly commented⁴ that the legislation is not infrequently self-contradictory and also silent on critical substantive areas.