Post by bruce on Jan 19, 2015 22:54:53 GMT 7
Price of Gallipoli win is losing disabled pension
The Australian - January 20, 2015
PATRICK Nicholls’s mind is fading fast as Alzheimer’s disease sets in and the pensioner has one last trip planned to honour the memory of his father, a Gallipoli veteran, after winning a spot in the centenary of ANZAC commemorations in April.
When he goes, however, the federal Department of Human Services will suspend or cancel his disability support pension in line with new rules from January 1 that cut payments to anybody on the DSP if they’re overseas for more than four weeks in any year.
The wide net, aimed at discouraging thousands on the DSP from living overseas and continuing to receive the pension, will save the budget just $5 million over the next five years, $7.3 million less than claimed in last year’s budget.
“He was 62 when he was diagnosed and there was just a lot of shock, and the realisation that all of these things you had on your bucket list, they’re all gone,” his wife June Nicholls said.
The 63-year-old’s disease crept in while he worked in a factory not far from the couple’s Morayfield, Queensland home — his boss first noticed the symptoms — and he was approved for the pension only last July, after the changes were announced in the budget.
Samuel Nicholls was born in 1890 and enlisted in World War I at 24, landing at Gallipoli during his first posting on April 25, 1915. He entered service as a young pup, was promoted, then demoted for drinking and hitting an officer, and then promoted again. “I think they needed him too much,” Mrs Nicholls, 56, said.
The couple learnt they had won a spot at the 100-year anniversary ceremony last September and booked a six-week tour as soon as they had the place confirmed. “We will be there at dawn because I know how much it means to Pat,” Mrs Nicholls said. “We saved for this trip, we’ve worked to have the money and we’re using our money for the tour. He wants to visit France, England and Belgium, where Samuel served in both world wars.”
There are narrow exemptions in the DSP rules for people who are terminally ill, visiting families in crisis or travelling for medical treatment, but it is unclear if Mr Nicholls will qualify.
A spokesman for the Social Services Minister, Scott Morrison, said exemptions were available only to “approved applicants”.
Before January, recipients could go overseas for up to six weeks at a time for as many times as required in a 12-month period.
“It’s stressful, even just finding out if we can get an exemption,” Mrs Nicholls said.
“We have to go back to the doctor, get another referral to the neurologist, get an appointment, have a reassessment done, provide the medical report back to the doctor, and then that has to go to Centrelink, where we wait for an appointment, another jobs assessment and then a decision.”
Greens community services spokeswoman Rachel Siewert told The Australian that the measure was “especially cruel” given it offered so little savings to the budget. “People with disability have to spend years saving up to go overseas, but the government will now punish them for spending more than four weeks overseas,” she said.
“It would seem as though Centrelink offices aren’t clear about these changes.
“June says they weren’t even loaded into the system when she went to her local branch.
“This creates confusion and concern for people with disability who can’t get a clear answer to their situation.”
People with Disability Australia president Craig Wallace said the effect of the policy change was “disproportionate” to the budget saving.
“This measure is about travel overseas for any reason and is a very large net which will capture lots of people,” he said.
“It’s not about people living overseas, but taking relatively short trips.”
Mrs Nicholls said she understood the intention of the policy, and conceded it worked in some cases, but she added it was unfair when people on other payments were subject to more generous overseas limits. Or even people on the pension at home, I know people who sold their house, bought a caravan, and travel the country on a 52-week holiday every year,” she said.
“I cried when I realised what his diagnosis meant for our retirement plans and this whole mess since has had me in tears again.
“I don’t think we’re asking too much.”
The Australian - January 20, 2015
PATRICK Nicholls’s mind is fading fast as Alzheimer’s disease sets in and the pensioner has one last trip planned to honour the memory of his father, a Gallipoli veteran, after winning a spot in the centenary of ANZAC commemorations in April.
When he goes, however, the federal Department of Human Services will suspend or cancel his disability support pension in line with new rules from January 1 that cut payments to anybody on the DSP if they’re overseas for more than four weeks in any year.
The wide net, aimed at discouraging thousands on the DSP from living overseas and continuing to receive the pension, will save the budget just $5 million over the next five years, $7.3 million less than claimed in last year’s budget.
“He was 62 when he was diagnosed and there was just a lot of shock, and the realisation that all of these things you had on your bucket list, they’re all gone,” his wife June Nicholls said.
The 63-year-old’s disease crept in while he worked in a factory not far from the couple’s Morayfield, Queensland home — his boss first noticed the symptoms — and he was approved for the pension only last July, after the changes were announced in the budget.
Samuel Nicholls was born in 1890 and enlisted in World War I at 24, landing at Gallipoli during his first posting on April 25, 1915. He entered service as a young pup, was promoted, then demoted for drinking and hitting an officer, and then promoted again. “I think they needed him too much,” Mrs Nicholls, 56, said.
The couple learnt they had won a spot at the 100-year anniversary ceremony last September and booked a six-week tour as soon as they had the place confirmed. “We will be there at dawn because I know how much it means to Pat,” Mrs Nicholls said. “We saved for this trip, we’ve worked to have the money and we’re using our money for the tour. He wants to visit France, England and Belgium, where Samuel served in both world wars.”
There are narrow exemptions in the DSP rules for people who are terminally ill, visiting families in crisis or travelling for medical treatment, but it is unclear if Mr Nicholls will qualify.
A spokesman for the Social Services Minister, Scott Morrison, said exemptions were available only to “approved applicants”.
Before January, recipients could go overseas for up to six weeks at a time for as many times as required in a 12-month period.
“It’s stressful, even just finding out if we can get an exemption,” Mrs Nicholls said.
“We have to go back to the doctor, get another referral to the neurologist, get an appointment, have a reassessment done, provide the medical report back to the doctor, and then that has to go to Centrelink, where we wait for an appointment, another jobs assessment and then a decision.”
Greens community services spokeswoman Rachel Siewert told The Australian that the measure was “especially cruel” given it offered so little savings to the budget. “People with disability have to spend years saving up to go overseas, but the government will now punish them for spending more than four weeks overseas,” she said.
“It would seem as though Centrelink offices aren’t clear about these changes.
“June says they weren’t even loaded into the system when she went to her local branch.
“This creates confusion and concern for people with disability who can’t get a clear answer to their situation.”
People with Disability Australia president Craig Wallace said the effect of the policy change was “disproportionate” to the budget saving.
“This measure is about travel overseas for any reason and is a very large net which will capture lots of people,” he said.
“It’s not about people living overseas, but taking relatively short trips.”
Mrs Nicholls said she understood the intention of the policy, and conceded it worked in some cases, but she added it was unfair when people on other payments were subject to more generous overseas limits. Or even people on the pension at home, I know people who sold their house, bought a caravan, and travel the country on a 52-week holiday every year,” she said.
“I cried when I realised what his diagnosis meant for our retirement plans and this whole mess since has had me in tears again.
“I don’t think we’re asking too much.”
