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Post by latindancer on Jul 14, 2015 6:11:37 GMT 7
Wooly,
It may interest you to know that I was being paid the single rate when I was waiting for my wife to arrive here. When she came to Australia I reported this to Centrelink. They sent me a letter months later saying that I had continued to be paid at the single rate, and that I owed them money.
I complained and they waived the debt, because it was their fault, and they had a record of my telling them my wife had arrived.
I had genuinely thought I was being paid at a higher rate because my wife was not working, and I was supporting us both on a pension intended to support a single person.
Be politely insistent and you may be pleasantly surprised.
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saree
Junior Member
Posts: 2 
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Post by saree on Jul 20, 2015 6:39:25 GMT 7
Hey guy's and gal's. Just reporting in with my progress with DSP UP and I'm still waiting for a reply of some sort. The forms arrived about a week after asking for them on the phone. Filled them out the best I could, Instructed the doctor where he needed to be on the spinal tables. Hopefully will hear back soon for an interview. On a side note, My wife has recently become my carer as she is needed for certain aspects of my disability. Anyway, that all went through ok. She was granted allowance and carers payment. We got married in July of 2012 in the Philippines and her visa was granted and was in Australia on 24th jan 2013. My wife was only here a few days before I took her to centrelink to report her arrival and update my status. She also got a medicare card while we were there.......Anyway, To cut a long story short. I noticed on my centrelink online profile that I apparently owe them over $16,000.00 I'm obviously going to take this as far as i can with them but I can see i'm going to have to get a lawyer on this one. They are stating that I have been over paid as a single since july 2012. That might be how it appears on the computer but I reported my status (all be it 5 months late but she wasn't in the country or had an income) In person with my wife present. I can see i'll have to get all my records which include visits to them. Just when you think you are going forward, These useless good for nothing vermin at centrelink ruin it for you. They are fair dinkum useless.. ok, rant over. If centerlink knew you had a missus and she had no income and was not in the country they should of granted you a section 24 on the basis that your wife was not in the country and had no source of income id be asking them to waiver your debt and ask them about the section 24 provision if it goes to the ARO thry will most probably rubber stamp the ODM decision but im sure u could win the Section 24 provision in the SSAT |
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Post by wooly on Jul 27, 2015 17:46:56 GMT 7
Great support guys, I really appreciate it. I heard from centrelink and the guy said that he can confirm that I filled out a PP form back when my wife arrived and that it wasn't processed at section 24..? I'm not sure what that totally means but it looks like that they acknowledge that I did the right thing. The guy that called me "Ken" said he would file it for review on my behalf. That was a few weeks back and haven't heard anything since. The due date for the owed money is the 7th of august and I've been advised to start the repayment while it's being reviewed as they may cancel my payments if i don't. The problem with that from a legal aspect is that if I start paying them back it's an admission of guilt. I'm not sure what to do on that one....... Anyway, back to the thread.
It's been 3 weeks now and haven't heard anything regarding portability. Has this debt effected the approval process of unlimited portability? Only time will tell. Does anyone know of the time frame this takes? I haven't been invited to see there doctor or anything. It's not certified mail so I don't even know if they even received it. Stressful times at the moment but what else would you expect from Centrelink?.. Anyway, Thanks again for advice on my debt delema, regards wooly.
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Post by wooly on Sept 16, 2015 13:19:30 GMT 7
Hi folks, I'll just start with the debt that I suddenly received from CL. They had evidence of me reporting my partner in jan 2013 and the debt was waived minus $500 which i'm not going to argue about. They can have it at $15 per fortnight. Now back to the topic at hand. I had my appointment monday week ago and everything went well as far as I could tell. The interview was done by a psychologist. When she finished she said that she couldn't make a decision as she was there to determine my mental health. When I first went on DSP anxiety was a condition but has since subsided so she is referring the medical report to a relevant person to make a decision. The interviewer said to ring at the end of this week and find out if a decision has been made so I'll do that on friday. I hope it's the end of appointments. I haven't read anywhere that multiple interviews are needed but I guess we will find out soon enough. We are entering the 4th month since I called the international number for the paperwork. Will update soon.
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Post by immiadvice on Sept 16, 2015 18:50:22 GMT 7
When I first went on DSP anxiety was a condition but has since subsided I'm glad you are over the anxiety but it would appear that if that is the condition that your DSP is based on then you are likely to lose your DSP after review. |
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Post by wooly on Sept 17, 2015 5:49:43 GMT 7
Fortunately for me, My DSP is based on Lumbar pain with a prolonged disc. I only mentioned the anxiety issue because the interviewer couldn't make any decision based on the fact that I don't suffer from it anymore. To be honest I think you are interviewed by a psychologist regardless of your DSP complaint. My doctor has filled out several reports pertaining to my permanent condition so it doesn't make sense a psychologist interviewed me other than a medical review is still pending. Having said that I've never heard about multiple interviews in this process. Time will tell.
Can anyone that has UP tell me if it is mentioned on the online profile for CL or mentioned anywhere else or is it just visible for CL workers? regards
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Post by wooly on Sept 22, 2015 14:00:30 GMT 7
Can anyone that has UP tell me if it is mentioned on the online profile for CL or mentioned anywhere else or is it just visible for CL workers? regards
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Post by immiadvice on Sept 22, 2015 20:01:26 GMT 7
Can anyone that has UP tell me if it is mentioned on the online profile for CL or mentioned anywhere else or is it just visible for CL workers? regards The only time it's ready noticeable is when you travel and they send out the letter telling you what happens to your pay after so many days. |
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mrrey
New Member
Posts: 1
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Post by mrrey on Sept 22, 2015 20:25:43 GMT 7
Hello there,
im a new member and like most I think have been seeking some answers
my story in brief
ex soldier/ veteran with a dva 50% physical disability 1992 with part pension now about $400 per month
in late 2013 diagnosed with chronic ptsd with delayed on set,severe depression, anxiety, hypertension and agraphobia
was told by a DVA advocate to go to centrelink and apply for DSP as DVA would take upto 2 years to go through as back log of claimants.
dsp was granted in early 2014 was told I had portability so I went to cambodia to bury the past and ghosts as it were.found meditation and mindfulness and was interested in buddhism
6 weeks in DSP is stopped when I returned I was told no problem fill in this form, get doctor to sign and it will be ok.......
went back overseas as I was now falling to pieces again and found that living with monks and meditation seemed to put me at ease, eventually converting to buddhism, again 6 weeks later DSP stopped, i returned asked why and they said my application was declined, I stated that I was never informed I was applying......
Saved my pension and went back over seas ( yes it seems like I am running away from issues but I would not be alive if not..found my cousin who is married to thai girl and staying with him, on the thai cambodian boarder....
so I am now with the aat tribunal stage 12 moths later, I have submitted letters and reports from
counsellor
GP
2 x psychologists
psychiartist
veteran affairs
all stating im total and permanently incapacitated and unable to work ....
I have been rejected my portability based on that I have not been stabilised in the view of the centrelink medical officer, whose report seems to omit, twist, makes ascertains of the treatment....(note ptsd cannot be cured)
have tribunal hearing on the3rd November ... I'm now stuck in a foreign country unable to afford to return, let alone even recieve further treatment
have written to the pm, mr Morrison, local mp, senator for human services and senator Lazarus and Malcolm Turnball not a reply from one of them
spoke to welfare rights and was informed that regardless of how strong my case is I will fail as the legislation is written for the applicant to fail
i guess I'm writing for advice and help
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Post by immiadvice on Sept 22, 2015 20:50:06 GMT 7
Good luck Mr Rey.
If your condition hadn't stabilized they shouldn't have granted you DSP. They did, so it must have stabilized then.
If what you have written here is true and you have the paperwork to back it up I can't see how you can lose. That is if all else works i.e. the 20 points, no work capacity etc...
Am wondering how affordable Cambodia is these days with the shitty conversion rate.
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Post by Banjo on Sept 23, 2015 7:35:36 GMT 7
Welcome to the forum mrrey. Sounds like you have a good case at the tribunal. About all I can add is to suggest you contact one of the veterans groups, also you could talk to Welfare Rights in your home state. They may be able to negotiate reinstatement of payments pending the appeal due to genuine hardship. It's possible the media may be interested in your case as well, they tend to be more sympathetic to veterans than other welfare recipients. www.welfarerights.org.au/ |
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Post by wooly on Oct 14, 2015 7:54:10 GMT 7
Hi Guys, Well I just got off the phone with disability international and the news is not good. I have been given notice on my dsp. They have elected to discontinue my pension based on the fact that I didn't have enough supporting specialist information regarding my condition. They have me at zero points despite referring to the tables and my condition fell in the 20 point section. I have appealed the decision already and that will keep my pension going through this process. I asked what I could do to make the decision different and she advised me to get a referral from my GP and see a specialist that can state that my injury is permanent and that all avenues of treatment will not improve my condition. A heads up for everyone seeking portability, Don't rely on the spinal tables anymore because they are not enough. I asked for portability and am now fighting for my pension. I intend to stay focused and get the necessary repots to them within six weeks before a review decision is made. I applied for portability papers back in May only to find out today that I'm fighting for my pension altogether. It was a month and one week from when I went to the employment capacity assessment to hearing from them regarding portability. This is a long road if you choose to go down it. Anyway, I better get on the phone and make some appointments. Wooly.
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Post by Banjo on Oct 14, 2015 9:43:44 GMT 7
That's really bad news wooly, even after the years of dealing with their shit they still have the ability to leave me stunned.
Have you considered Welfare Rights?
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Post by wooly on Oct 14, 2015 11:00:41 GMT 7
Yeah Banjo, I guessed it was going to be a roller coaster ride when I applied for portability. I will pursue Welfare Rights if the specialist reports are still not enough. From what I make of it, What they are doing is forcing everyone to reapply for dsp following the table changes in 2012. This process is designed to shed some dollars off the welfare bill and it probably has in a lot of circumstances. I will follow the process and see where it leads. Will update as news comes to hand, regards.
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Post by Banjo on Oct 14, 2015 11:54:55 GMT 7
The current results, mainly based on the 25 to 35 age group, show that it's not working; the numbers failing the reassessment have been much lower than they anticipated.
This can only get worse as they take on older DSP recipients; even if they qualified under different rules natural aging will have caused their conditions to deteriorate.
I suspect the cost of the reassessments, hopefully followed by that of multiple appeals, will see them quietly shelve it while realising that the tightening of the qualifications for new applicants as set up by Gillard/Macklin will be more effective.
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