I gave my OW appeal form to the Social Benefits Tribunal. Now what?

Beware of scams

People have been getting phone calls with a pre-recorded message telling them their Ontario Works account has been deleted.

This is a scam to trick you into sharing your personal information. If you get a call like that, hang up the phone. You can report these calls to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.

Long delays for appeal hearings

If you're appealing a decision made by OW or ODSP in 2020, your appeal hearing may not happen for a long time. People report that they're getting hearing dates from the that are between 9 and 16 months in the future. We'll update this information as things change.

About 2 weeks after you your Appeal Form, the Social Benefits Tribunal (SBT) sends you a letter with a file number.  You file your Appeal Form when you deliver it to the SBT and follow the rules about how to do this.

Keep track of the file number as you will need it whenever you contact the SBT about your appeal.

The SBT sends a copy of your Appeal Form to the Ontario Works (OW) office.

After the SBT sends your Appeal Form

Once the OW office gets your Appeal Form, they have 30 days to fill out a Response to Appeal (Form 3) and give it to the SBT.

They can also do what's called a “written submission”.  This means that they explain in writing:

  • why they made the decision you're appealing, and
  • why they think it's correct.

If the OW office does a written submission, they have to send it to the SBT within the same 30 days.

And they have to send you a copy of whatever they send to the SBT.

If you don't get a copy of their written submission, call the OW office.

You can also contact a community legal clinic for help.

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