Applying for welfare benefits

What an application declares

The Act requires a declaration in the prescribed form about the applicant’s income, assets and liabilities and those of their spouse, dependent children or other dependants. The Board uses that information to assess eligibility under a prescribed scheme. Selection must follow prescribed criteria without discrimination only on the grounds of race, language, religion, sex or political opinion.

Welfare Benefits Act s 7

Keeping the information accurate

The declaration is not the only information the process may require. An authorised officer can call for additional information to check its accuracy, and the person must provide it within the time stated. The Act also requires notification of material changes in the declared particulars within its specified period. Keep the submitted declaration and later correspondence together so changes can be explained consistently.

Welfare Benefits Act s 13

Welfare Benefits Act s 7

Selection and objections

Selection Committees examine declarations and make inquiries before recommending names. The Act provides for publication of an approved list, objections to included names and claims to be included. It gives those responses a time limit measured from publication of the notice. Appeals Committees investigate the objections or claims referred to them. Read the current notice and the linked provisions rather than assume that an application receipt is an award of benefits.

Welfare Benefits Act s 10

Welfare Benefits Act s 11

Welfare Benefits Act s 12

False information can affect an award

Where information is believed to be false, the Act provides a recommendation and inquiry process that can lead to removal from the list, discontinuance of payments and recovery of benefits already paid. That is another reason to distinguish accurate supporting information from an estimate or a detail that has since changed.

Welfare Benefits Act s 14

Track the notice and response separately

Under the cited publication, the approved list is published in Sinhala and Tamil daily newspapers. Objections to listed names and claims to be included must be submitted within ten days from publication of the notice. This is the period for responding to that list, not a general deadline for every welfare application. An Appeals Committee investigates matters referred to it and must communicate its decision to the Board within thirty days of referral. Keep the publication date, the relevant list entry, your response and evidence of submission together when asking about a particular decision.

Welfare Benefits Act s 11

Welfare Benefits Act s 12

Record later changes

A person who has furnished the statutory declaration must notify the Commissioner of material changes in the particulars within two months of the change. For a working record, separate the information that was accurate when you applied from income, assets, liabilities or household details that changed later. Note when each change happened and when it was reported. The current scheme and notice still determine the relevant application requirements; this guide does not supply a replacement form or a current payment calculation.

Welfare Benefits Act s 7

Scope of this guide

This guide explains the cited as-enacted publication. Check later amendments, commencement orders and current procedures before relying on it for a particular situation. It does not determine your eligibility, liability or the outcome of a case.