Starting January 1, Social Benefits Tribunal appellants and the Disability Adjudication Unit of the Ministry of Community and Social Services will be able to agree to settle a disability appeal during the hearing.
If the two sides agree on a way to settle the appeal, they will be asked to put their agreement in writing using a Confirmation of Settlement and Request for Consent Order form. This agreement can happen before, during or at the end of the hearing.
The parties will then ask the member to close the case by issuing a consent order. A consent order is when an agreement proposed by the parties becomes an order of the tribunal. If the member is satisfied that both sides understand the terms of the agreement, they will issue the consent order and close the case. In these cases, the member will not make a decision. The consent order closes the case.
On December 29, three documents that support this change will be posted to the SBT website:
- A Confirmation of Settlement and Request for Consent Order (Form 9)
- A procedure which explains how to make an agreement and get a consent order
- Amendments to rule 9 of the SBT Rules of Procedure
These documents become effective on January 1, 2018.