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Post by Banker on Aug 9, 2013 5:58:04 GMT 7
Sorry to hear about that L.D.
You can send off a complaint to the Ombudsman if they get plenty of complaints they MIGHT just do something about it.
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Post by Banjo on Aug 9, 2013 7:22:31 GMT 7
Go to their website, then contacts, send an email through their system to call you.
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Post by latindancer on Aug 9, 2013 15:26:37 GMT 7
I received the letter ( saying they were cutting me off soon) a little more than 2 weeks ago, I think. Today I hauled myself in to a Centrelink office, parked the car, stood in line, presented my problem, but.....apparently they finally received and scanned my Rent Certificate 2 weeks ago. When I suggested that perhaps they might have told me that I WASN'T after all going to be cut off rent assistance, I was told "No, we don't do that".
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Post by baranghope on Aug 10, 2013 4:46:59 GMT 7
LD: if you are online with CL you can piss off the rent assistance form stupidity. First, calculate the fortnightly rent you have to be paying in order to receive the full rent assistance rate. It is the same for everyone right: probably about $150 per week. OK, now nearly everyone has seen their rent rise $10 bucks per fortnight each year. So if you were paying $150 in 2009 you are now paying $190. Each year CL request any update to your rent rate: FOR NO EFFING REASON, other than to inconvenience you into coming into their offices so they can I.D. you.
So here is what you do online. Each year when asked the trick question about whether your rent rate has changed just click the "NO" button, SAME RENT. This convenient misinformation makes for a happy little CL computer. Nothing changes. No interrogation. OK, you are lying . . . but it is a white lie which they could never punish you for right . . . they are looking after all for suckers who are reporting their rent has GONE DOWN. And real liars. As if . . . you can thank me later.
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Post by matt on Aug 23, 2013 13:43:06 GMT 7
Hey there, my name is Matt and I am new to these forums. For the last month I have been going through a lot of hassles with Centrelink, whilst trying to apply for the DSP. Before I tell you about my experiences I should probably tell you about my conditions; I suffer from two rare eye conditions called X-linked code-rod retinal dystrophy as well as pathological myopia, I also have an astigmatism in both eyes. I was diagnosed with these since birth, and all my brothers have it too (hence X-linked). My eyesight was pretty okay during childhood, but it only got progressively worse during my teenage years, with a rapid onset of deterioration in the last 2 years, leading to my ophthalmologist (eye specialist that I saw for Centrelink medical reports) recently declaring that I am legally blind. He assessed me as having a visual acuity of 6/60 (only being able to read the top letter on a snellen chart) and having a field of vision of 25 degrees in both eyes, as well as night blindness, difficulty focusing on things (like an object, face, etc), frequent headaches due to eye straining and other minor details (lack of color vision, lack of taking in light in dim environments, lack of concentration, etc). The prognosis? No treatment is available, as of at the moment, anyways. Anyways, some other details about me: I've tried working in the past, but getting turned down by every single employer, for every single job or even at places like McDonalds, is really unmotivating and quite upsetting and depressing after a while. They'd always find other excuses for denying me, like being under-qualified, or that I didn't meet the criteria, found someone better etc, what they probably really meant was "We cannot or will not cater for your needs in the workplace, so we hired someone else". To be honest though, I CAN see it from their point of view, why hire me and go through all that extra hassles required so I could work in their workplace, i.e; assistive technology, or constant help/supervision, without any financial aid from the government and to their financial detriment? Of course they would choose other people over me. So after I finished highschool, with a sufficient score required to get into the uni course I wanted, I completed my first year last year, but dropped out this year due to the stress, my failing vision (making it difficult to get to and from uni, among other things) and lack of income to actually afford going. I don't live at home, and I was just making ends meet (rent, bills, food, etc) each fortnight with the youth allowance I was receiving (450 a fortnight). With no money left over to move forward, go out, or live even CLOSE to comfortably. Okay, sorry about that, on to the Centrelink experience! I had read about the DSP a year or so earlier and thought about applying for it, especially with my lack of income and my inability to find work, but I decided against it, and opted to live of Youth Allowance for the time being. But as a result of ceasing study, they completely cut off my youth allowance without warning, or notice, that was the proverbial "kick in the butt" I needed to convince me to apply for the DSP. After seeing my GP, he definitely recommended that I apply for the DSP, as being legally blind I would be eligible for it. I hadn't seen my ophthalmologist in years, and obviously since my eyesight had deteriorated a lot since then, I would need to get up-to-date medical reports, so I called them up to book in an appointment, but the earliest they could see me was on the 9th of august.. nearly a month from that day. Nothing I could do about that I guess, so I filled out the claim form, and handed it in, telling them I couldn't give them a medical report until the 9th of august at the earliest. I also enquired about being put on a payment in the meantime, since I had been cut off a few days earlier and I needed the money to survive, especially with rent coming up. Long story short, the following month since then involved countless hours on the phone to centrelink, as well as going in multiple times to give them forms (parental income, bank statements, etc), each time getting promised I'd be put on a payment a few days later, or a phone call back.. with nothing happening at all and getting constantly screwed over. It was very frustrating, and lead me to have to borrow money off my brother to pay for rent and bills. It wasn't until a week ago, AFTER a month or so, and after I handed in the medical reports from my GP and specialist, that they finally put me on youth allowance (incapacitated). At least they backpayed me all the way back until when my payments first got cut off, that was the first 'breakthrough' I had with them, finally some good news! I called them up to ask them how my DSP claim was going, I got told it was most likely a manifest grant, that I wouldn't need to go in for a job capacity assessment, and that it should only take a few more days. More good news! I was really happy that finally things seemed to be going my way for once. But nope, I got a call back the next day saying that after talking to his colleagues about my claim, they decided that it was not a manifest grant, based on the fact that they weren't quite convinced on the medical report I had given them from my ophthalmologist. They said that he hadn't ticked either box " is visual acuity less then 6/60" or " field of vision less then 10 degrees", which if your eyesight is either of those, you're classified as legally blind in Centrelink's standards. But he had ticked the box " does the COMBINED list of visual defects achieve that as of loss of vision equal to less than visual acuity of 6/60 or field of vision of 10 degrees", because although my eyesight wasn't LESS then 6/60 (its 6/60) and field of vision wasn't less than 10 degrees (it's 25 degrees), the combined effects of these PLUS my other visual defects as a WHOLE lead to the same degree of vision loss as the above points anyways, which is why he ticked that box, and why he diagnosed me as legally blind. For some reason the assessors could not understand that, and could not understand why he ticked that box but not either of the first two, and for some crazy reason, they thought they had more medical qualifications to completely dismiss what my specialist had wrote, and booked me in for a job capacity test anyways. Since when could they look at a report from a QUALIFIED specialist, that clearly outlined my conditions and basically dismiss it and say "yeah, we're not quite convinced"? Okay, so no manifest grant, the good news wasn't such good news after all. So that leads to the final part of the story, the job capacity assessment. I had previously read a lot of bad experiences and encounters with these capacity assessors that actually got me really nervous and anxious. When I went in for the JCA yesterday, I'd never felt more anxious in my entire life. I felt like was going to have a panic attack. My sister was there with me, as she is most of the time (to help me get around, help with catching public transport, helps me with shopping, etc), and that helped calm me down a little.. thank god I wasn't there by myself. But the actual assessment wasn't that bad, I had a young, quite attractive lady, who seemed genuine and sincere; I know that usually this is a front by most Centrelink staff, but she definitely seemed different, and seemed to care. Overall the JCA went really well, she wrote down all the day-to-day difficulties I have, and how working is impossible for me without assistive devices and extra assistance, and assessed me as having a severe visual impairment. That was the last step I assume, and to be frank.. I am exhausted, it was such a long, winded process. Full of countless phone calls, interviews and getting medical reports. I am currently on the youth allowance at the moment, while I await a response back on my DSP claim. Let's hope I get accepted. Oh yeah, and nice to meet you all, sorry for the HUGE post. One last thing you guys might find weird, I certainly did. When I got put on youth allowance, it came up as DSP on my centrelink page and on payment statements, under "Pensions" instead of "Youth and Students". A few days later, I also received a letter in the mail saying "Thank you for your claim for DSP. After carefully considering your individual circumstances, a decision has been made to grant this payment.", whats weird is the actual amount I am getting paid is $407.50, which is the youth allowance amount. I am thinking it is maybe a glitch in the system, that because I had a DSP claim underway, after getting put on Youth Allowance it says DSP instead? This was also BEFORE my JCA, so it cant ACTUALLY be that I got accepted for the DSP, right?
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Post by spaceyone on Aug 25, 2013 11:28:05 GMT 7
You will still have to wait a couple of weeks, maybe, for the JCA assessor to write up her report and recommendation. The decision is then made by someone else again. You will be advised by letter as to the result of the DSP application. Usually that is 7 weeks from start to finish. The online thing is weird. But are they paying you $50 a fortnight less now? You might not get full DSP if under the age of 21, but might get a disability supplement of about $130 extra a fortnight. You won't know til you get the letter, acknowledging the process has ended and their final decision. If they turn you down, lodge an appeal by phone right away, and join the list of dissatisfied customers Or you might just get lucky, and win it first time. Good luck.
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Post by spaceyone on Aug 25, 2013 11:52:02 GMT 7
Another Welfare Horror Story So, I had to move out of my flat, after receiving death threats, which appear to be related to my copious amounts of postings about corruption at Centrelink all over the internet. Knowing that NSW Housing would deliberately not process any application I made for crisis accommodation, I have couch surfed for the past three weeks. I have run out of friends to annoy now. I got one night in a motel (after paying for two myself the week before), by phoning the after hours line, to avoid corrupt day time staff. To qualify for more nights, I had to report to their office the next day to fill in the paperwork. When I went to do that, the man would not agree to provide me with accommodation unless I went to all the private charities first, and begged for a room in a hostel type thing. I refused. I am entitled to 28 days in a motel. I meet the criteria they are throwing at me, that you have to have been under threat to have left your premises. I was. But they refused to accept the print out of screen shots of same threats. In fact the man closed the window and went to lunch, rather than accept them. Yet he had just told my local member's staff to tell me to come back down there, and he would fix it all up. Instead he shut up shop and went out for an hour. That was my third visit for the morning, and I didn't go back after that. At my second visit, he gave me forms and a list of supporting documents to retreive, offering to assess me for eligibility. I refused to do the leg work until he agreed that I did already qualify, and the paperwork was just a formality. He refused to agree to that, merely to assess me for eligibility. He wanted copies of police reports. I had copies of things on a flash drive, but he refused to print it out. I refused to pay for the evidence he required. I had coaxed my local MP's staff into printing them out for me. In between visits with him, I set up camp in my local MP's waiting room, after seeing a power outlet there on my first visit to them. I set up my laptop, which doesn't have a battery, and wrote a post about how the MP's staff would not help me with housing. The man from housing kept lying to them telling them to tell me to come back to do the paperwork, and when I did, would refuse to agree that he would provide me with crisis accommodation for the weekend. I eventually didn't bother going back to him. I have done the run around for them many times, and they deliberately fail to produce the required result by the end of the day, or even week for that matter. I have already experienced deliberate corruption in their dealings with me, on many verifiable occassions. All I was asking the MP or his staff to do was to instruct Housing staff to do their job in relation to my application honestly, and act as a witness to same. I started to annoy the MP's staff when they delivered a message that he wasn't going to come back to the office now, but instead was going home from the meeting where he was, as he had the flue. When they had refused to make me a coffee, I got my own mug, coffee and milk from the car, explaining that if I was in a motel room I would be able to boil water for myself. Eventually I put some music on, since it had been a long day. At least it was cool there. I got sunburnt and sicker the next day wandering the streets. When I then explained to the MP's staff that I wasn't going back to Housing because they were going to call the After Hours line for me at 4.30, since it cuts off on public phones and eats your money, and verify that I went to their office three times that day, they called the police on me. They came to end my peaceful protest and throw me back out onto the street. It was almost time for the after hours crisis line to open, so I went off to phone them. They refused to provide me with a room for the weekend, because I had not been able to lodge the necessary documents that day at the Housing office. The man who worked there had kindly put a note on the file that I now did not qualify for help at all. When I refused to accept that, the man then banned me from crisis accommodation altogether. I spent the last two nights in my car. I caught the MP's flue from his staff, and was already ill from a tic bite I got when I first started couch surfing. I ended up at the hospital for a bit this morning, when I woke up with the beginnings of a migraine, and needed some medication. I was also at the after hours GP last night for antibiotics for the flue and tic bite, so it wouldn't all turn into pneumonia. The Australian Government Welfare Services in Action, Corrupting Processes and Punishing the Ill and Unemployed. Way to go boys. And thanks so much to Geoff Provest, MP for Tweed, and his compassionate staff.
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Post by matt on Aug 25, 2013 12:30:22 GMT 7
You will still have to wait a couple of weeks, maybe, for the JCA assessor to write up her report and recommendation. The decision is then made by someone else again. You will be advised by letter as to the result of the DSP application. Usually that is 7 weeks from start to finish. The online thing is weird. But are they paying you $50 a fortnight less now? You might not get full DSP if under the age of 21, but might get a disability supplement of about $130 extra a fortnight. You won't know til you get the letter, acknowledging the process has ended and their final decision. If they turn you down, lodge an appeal by phone right away, and join the list of dissatisfied customers Or you might just get lucky, and win it first time. Good luck. Well, it SAYS "Disability Support Pension" under the payment type "Pensions", the funny thing is though.. I got put on this payment the day after I called up and applied for youth allowance as a temporary payment whilst my DSP claim was being processed, and this is BEFORE my JCA, etc. As you can see, the payment amount is $407.50, which is the exact amount youth allowance is. The payment rate for under 21's for DSP is around $533 I think, about that (not including the youth disability supplement). It's all pretty weird though... <shrug> Also, how are you going mate, I read your next post about your current situation, what are you going to do? Hope all goes well. Edit: Forgot to mention I had actually spoken to someone about this, and they said it was a weird bug/glitch apparently, as I wasn't actually ON the DSP yet.. the claim was still being "processed". Why it says DSP on-line and on the letters? I do not know..
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Post by spaceyone on Aug 25, 2013 13:33:28 GMT 7
Hi Matt. I plan to look for a granny flat this week, but also to approach welfare rights and the ombudsman, to try to shame housing into getting me a motel room until I find one. I will also hassle my local MP a bit harder this week. Maybe they knew you would qualify for DSP when they resigned you for YA. However, the payment amount should match the payment classification automatically, so you wouldnt think they could call you one thing in the system, and pay you at a different rate. Take away the energy advance and you would be on $530, according to your screen shot. Maybe they have decided to pay you the dsp allowance, while you wait for the outcome of the application for full DSP? If you applied for DSP on 9 August, you won't get a result until 27 September, if they stretch it out for the full period they have to process it (49 days).
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Post by matt on Aug 25, 2013 13:59:07 GMT 7
Hi Matt. I plan to look for a granny flat this week, but also to approach welfare rights and the ombudsman, to try to shame housing into getting me a motel room until I find one. I will also hassle my local MP a bit harder this week. Maybe they knew you would qualify for DSP when they resigned you for YA. However, the payment amount should match the payment classification automatically, so you wouldnt think they could call you one thing in the system, and pay you at a different rate. Take away the energy advance and you would be on $530, according to your screen shot. Maybe they have decided to pay you the dsp allowance, while you wait for the outcome of the application for full DSP? If you applied for DSP on 9 August, you won't get a result until 27 September, if they stretch it out for the full period they have to process it (49 days). I didn't look it at like that actually. The DSP for under 21 is 522.90, I'm getting 407.50 for my YA and another 115.40 for my YDS... which adds up to exactly 522.90... I guess it can't be a coincidence, haha. It actually makes sense now that I look at it. I technically applied July 3rd, but it wasn't until I got my medical certificates on August 9th that I was able to hand those in.
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Post by mick on Aug 25, 2013 18:27:15 GMT 7
Matt, what you say above is correct, you have been given the DSP. You will get the full amount of DSP when you are 21.
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Post by matt on Aug 25, 2013 19:18:09 GMT 7
Matt, what you say above is correct, you have been given the DSP. You will get the full amount of DSP when you are 21. Well, that's good to know! I had spent weeks beforehand reading up on other peoples experiences, all mostly bad, and how strict they are about applying for the DSP. I expected to get denied for sure, guess not. Thanks for the responses and information guys, you're forum was actually one I would visit a lot, and it has helped immensely.
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Post by Banjo on Aug 25, 2013 19:28:26 GMT 7
good luck with the future Matt, we're here to try to help people like you.
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Post by matt on Aug 26, 2013 15:17:17 GMT 7
I just received my pension concession card in the mail today, it says "DSP Blind"... so I guess you were right spacey and mick, I had already been accepted without knowing it.
Thank you Banjo. You too. =)
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Post by spaceyone on Aug 27, 2013 6:57:09 GMT 7
Still sleeping in my car. Getting real sick now. Caught the flu when trying to complain to my local MP, off his staff. Getting migraines everyday from my neck being thrown out of place scrunched up in the car. Staff at NSW Housing still refusing to process my request for crisis accommodation.
They played a game with me again today. I phoned the after hours line last night, they said all I had to do was to go in there and fill in the paperwork. I did, and then got told to drive around all day looking for a charity that will help me. I don't have enough petrol to do that.
So car again tonight. Thanks Australia, you look after your disabled people so well.
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