Human Services Keeps Beating Me Up – Is There Any Help Here?

Hi there,

Well the Dept. of Human Services decided to take away the Disability Pension I was receiving for many years, because I requested “indefinite portability” and then they said “absolutely not enough impairment – not qualified for any DSP anywhere” or words to that effect.

I needed to improve my health at a natural healing centre overseas where I could afford to do it.

I reviewed and appealed the cancellation as much as I could until health symptoms stopped me. I went overseas twice more to save money during this 14 month period whilst having no income.

I successfully applied for an Age Pension, but they wrote mis-truths in my file about living overseas. When I tried to have the mis-truths removed to pave the way for my aim of living overseas, they decided to take away the Age Pension because they said I was already living overseas.

I'm still reeling around from the shocks they gave me, but also still trying to complain to an ombudsman, review and appeal and do an MP approach.

Any helpful ideas on how to get a portable pension?

Cheers.

 

9 comments

I agree with you that a complaint to an ombudsman and an MP approach is the way to go.

I do hope you can get it resolved soon,  they are not showing much care!

This is the problem of applying for indefinite portability. It is like applying for the dsp again and thus they can take it away from you, not just deny indefinite portability. So it‘s a very high risk thing to do.

Do you know about the dspoverseas site. Just google it. Plenty of people to give you advice and support.

Also Welfare Rights Australia and in each state. 

If you are old enough to be eligible for the aged pension, all that has to be looked at and appealed.

It seems you have been out of the country with no income? It really needs experts in social security law to help you, as it can be very complicated.

If you are back in Australia, that would be best to get help to appeal etc. And to get back on benefits, even if its only Newstart.

 

 

 

Google ‘dspoverseas‘ for a great community who help each other out with advice and support in complicated situations such as this.

Well, I have to disagree with you, Petey. I firmly believe that in Australia people are being denied the dsp or taken off it due to the hard stance of goverment re the idea of welfare.

Another unfair thing is people who are legally blind are not means tested and fit the criteria of disabled for the dsp. I know of someone who is legally blind, on a professional‘s salary, married to a salaried professional but still receives the full dsp. Whereas the McClure report commissioned by the govt said 99% of mentally ill are fit to work and should be taken off the DSP. The Aust and NZ board of psychiatrists came out and said this was not true. Even the IPA recommended the visually impaired anomaly be removed.

One rule for one lot and one rule for another.

 

You revive my faith in humanity, Ray!

                               

You either are sufficiently impaired for a DSP or you are not.   The fact that you have received the DSP for many years doesn't mean that you were originally sufficiently impaired - in many cases doctors simply stated that patients were and the government accepted this at face value, resulting in a huge number of recipients who really weren't entitled to qualify. In my view, those who think they are sufficiently impaired should be assessed by a government doctor, not by the most lenient GP in the neighbourhood, and a re-assessment should take place periodically.  Even holders of a drivers licence are periodically tested once over an age where impairment may affect their ability, so what makes recipients of the DSP an exempt class?  As to the aged pension, you either qualify for an aged pension or you don't.  There are rules that apply to overseas domicile, and they should be followed.   If you qualify for the pension, there should be no issue in having it restored.   If you are trying to skirt around the rules - tough.   I am 67 y.o, run a business, pay company tax, income tax, GST collected on sales, remit PAYG tax for the people I employ, and I'm happy for my taxes to work for those who genuinly need it but I see red when people have a handout mentality and a misplaced sense of entitlement.  As I see it, we live in a country where there is no place for poverty and I support to the hilt social programs that are designed to helph those in need.   But all too often the poverty is in the attitude, and little effort is made to maximise the help on offer and leverage it to end the cycle.

Oh World Prophet, you know how to make quick decisions with little information, and "see red" when you do it. Perhaps you have a red neck too.

Perhaps, Scarred.   It seems you're a redneck when you're lying through your tooth!   Or when you remarried after a divorce, but your in-laws stayed the same.  But to get back to the topic, it is very much a black and white issue for me.   I have a good friend, who (thinking he was doing the 'right' thing) sold his house which was in his name, and then purchased another one which he put in his ex-wife's name, on the understanding he could live on the property.  Centrelink cut off half his pension, his ex told him to leave and he now travels around on little income.  Why?  He didn't  homework.  I didn't mean to cause more scarring, Scarred, but the best way to deal with the bureaucrats is to use the 'Judo' approach.  Use their own rules against them.  Good luck.

dspoverseas.proboards.com/

www.humanservices.gov.au/.../disability-support-pension-while-travellin...

Hope you had the chance to have a look at the above link.

Yeah Abby, have joined thanks.

Myself and Admin of Auspensioner Dspoverseas are members of each others forums, between them you should get some help.

Auspensioner Dspoverseas Site: http://dspoverseas.proboards.com/

The Facebook Group is: Centrelink Law Reform Australia
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Centrelink.Law.Reform.Australia

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