The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, referred to as the R350 grant, serves as a lifeline for millions of unemployed individuals living in South Africa. However, applying for the grant does not guarantee that applicants will receive the grant.
If the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) rejects a R350 grant application, grant applicants have a legal right to appeal Sassa’s decisions.
It's important to note that appeal applicants must submit R350 grant appeals to the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals (ITSAA). The tribunal works independently from Sassa and endeavours to finalise R350 grant appeals promptly.
Here’s How To Submit A R350 Grant Appeal
- Visit srd.dsd.gov.za
- Click on the green bar that says 'click here to lodge an appeal or check appeal status'
- Enter your ID number
- Enter your cell phone number
- Click 'send pin' and wait for the SMS which will contain the verification pin
- Enter the pin and click 'submit'
- Select the month you are submitting an appeal for
- Select the drop-down arrow and choose the reason for your appeal
The ITSAA uses various databases to verify information provided by appeal applicants to verify their eligibility for the grant. The databases are used to confirm personal information and income information.
They explained, “To consider the appeal application the Independent Tribunal will check and revalidate the various databases utilised by Sassa that may indicate income or alternative financial assistance, including the verification databases of insufficient means with banks.”
Appeal applicants are reminded that the R350 grant applications are re-evaluated by Sassa every month. This monthly reevaluation aims to ensure the grant applicant is still in need of support.
The ITSSA explained that once an appeal application is received, they will reassess the decision of Sassa against the available information at its disposal.
This process takes between 60 and 90 dates to complete from the date on which the appeal was received. Once this is completed, the appealing applicant will receive the outcome of the appeal and the reason this outcome was reached.
It is important to note that an appeal application needs to be lodged for each month when a person's R350 grant application is rejected by Sassa.
“The decision of the Independent Tribunal will accordingly only be in respect of the specific month to which the appeal relates. It is accordingly in your best interest to lodge an appeal as soon as you get a rejected notification from Sassa and not delay” added the ITSAA.
The decision by the ITSAA is final. However, if appeal applicants are still not satisfied with the decision, they may approach the High Court for judicial review within 180 days.
