Hardship Review Board

Who are we

The Hardship Review Board (Board) is a statutory body who review certain decisions made by Revenue NSW.

The Board can review a decision about fines, fees, taxes and duties (where these are administered by Revenue NSW). Once this decision is reviewed, the Secretariat will send you a letter explaining the direction the Board has given in respect of the decision it has reviewed. 

Depending on your circumstances and the evidence you give us, the Board may direct Revenue NSW to:

• change their decision
• overturn their decision
• uphold their decision.  

Who can apply to the Hardship Review Board?

You can only apply for a Hardship Review Board review if you meet the following criteria: 

• you are applying for review of a debt that Revenue NSW administers (which might be a fine, fee, or state tax)
• you are a natural person (not the trustee of a trust, an organisation, or a company)
• you are applying to have a debt reviewed that has not previously been reviewed by the Board, or your circumstances have changed significantly
• for fines – you have had an application refused or a payment plan approved at a higher level than you can afford, a Work and Development Order cancelled or refused, or a write-off application refused
• for debts and fees – you have had an application for a payment plan approved that you cannot afford or Revenue NSW has refused to revoke your debt. 

Revenue NSW offers other pathways to resolve your fines, debt, or tax before applying to the Hardship Review Board. 
 

Find out how Revenue NSW can help you.

Authorise someone to act on your behalf

You can authorise someone else to act on your behalf by completing our Authority to Act form (PDF 499.78KB) and mailing it to us.