Post by baubo on Mar 4, 2016 4:35:43 GMT 7
Hello All,
I'm a new member and a DSPensioner since 2002 due to a chronic anxiety and depression disorder. Acquired PTSD after the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in 2009 which wiped out a big part of my community and friends.
To make a long story short I want to tell you about my experience last year in September/October with the 28 day travel restriction outside of Australia. I'm a migrant from the Netherlands/Holland and I'm the only one of my family here. I regularly travel 'back home' to reconnect and attend family gatherings. I also travelled backwards and forwards for 7 years every year to support my mother through her dementia process and relieve my siblings from caring for her. Since she died in 2004, I still like to travel to Holland to keep in touch with friends and family every 2 years or so. I usually went over there for 2 months at the time but those times are over now.
Last year I needed to go there to support my youngest sister who was in a health crisis with cancer treatments. Her husband asked me for support because they also live with a son who was born with Down Syndrome and he (my brother in law) runs his own business and is self employed. They asked me because I'm the only one in my family who's not working. He booked a flight for me to come over for 6 weeks. When I informed Centrelink in August last year of my plans to travel I was informed about the new travel restriction law of 28 days only. I was shocked!
I explained my sisters' situation and that she needed my support. I was told by a Centrelink International employee in Hobart that my sister doesn't count as 'direct family'. What! More shock! Who is 'direct family' I asked. 'Only your husband and children' was the answer. I'm single I replied. The employee was very short with me, 'this is law, your DSP will be stopped after 28 days.' I asked if there were any exemptions and who I could speak to to discuss my situation. Well, they weren't helpful at all.
After trying to get through to other Centrelink numbers three more times, which means hanging on the phone waiting for at least 45 minutes at the time listening to the same boring classical music tracks, I got nowhere and was just wasting time and suffered one anxiety attack after the other.
I looked on line for a complaint no and ended up talking to a polite and helpful woman from the complaints service. She investigated why I was so badly treated on the phone and rang me back immediately to say that my sister IS my direct family! Phew!!!
But if I wanted to be granted permission to head overseas for 6 weeks, I had to follow up all kinds of documentation from my sisters' doctors and my GP in order to receive DSP for the duration.
I couldn't see myself chasing this up while helping out in this crisis so after much consideration, my brother in law and I decided to change my flights to return to Australia within 28 days. It cost him an extra $300 to change it. Damn!
My stress levels were so high I had to take extra medication to get myself over there! Thanks to Mr. Scott Morrison who put this new law into place.
As it was on my way back from Amsterdam, my flight was delayed, I was stuck in Jakarta for 18 hours to get a connecting flight back to Melbourne and as a result I arrived 28 hours late after the cut off date. My pension was terminated, my rent paid directly to Dept. of Housing was terminated and as a result I had no payment for one month. How's that for treating someone with an anxiety disorder and PTSD?
I am still trying to recover from this experience now! A major trauma that I won't repeat in a hurry.
But where does this leave us migrants with families in our homelands? In a country where just about everyone is a migrant!
And how can I protest this law that discriminates against so many people?! It's inhumane and cruel.
Sorry, this still turned into a long story but I wanted to convey what it felt like for me and what the consquences are for my health but also to come to terms with the fact that I won't be able to support overseas family members in need anymore.
I'm in great despair about this. Where can I turn to, to make a complaint? Are there any joint actions to try and reverse this law?
We need to change this! It's discrimination at its worst.
Thank you for reading my story.
Baubo - Melbourne
I'm a new member and a DSPensioner since 2002 due to a chronic anxiety and depression disorder. Acquired PTSD after the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in 2009 which wiped out a big part of my community and friends.
To make a long story short I want to tell you about my experience last year in September/October with the 28 day travel restriction outside of Australia. I'm a migrant from the Netherlands/Holland and I'm the only one of my family here. I regularly travel 'back home' to reconnect and attend family gatherings. I also travelled backwards and forwards for 7 years every year to support my mother through her dementia process and relieve my siblings from caring for her. Since she died in 2004, I still like to travel to Holland to keep in touch with friends and family every 2 years or so. I usually went over there for 2 months at the time but those times are over now.
Last year I needed to go there to support my youngest sister who was in a health crisis with cancer treatments. Her husband asked me for support because they also live with a son who was born with Down Syndrome and he (my brother in law) runs his own business and is self employed. They asked me because I'm the only one in my family who's not working. He booked a flight for me to come over for 6 weeks. When I informed Centrelink in August last year of my plans to travel I was informed about the new travel restriction law of 28 days only. I was shocked!
I explained my sisters' situation and that she needed my support. I was told by a Centrelink International employee in Hobart that my sister doesn't count as 'direct family'. What! More shock! Who is 'direct family' I asked. 'Only your husband and children' was the answer. I'm single I replied. The employee was very short with me, 'this is law, your DSP will be stopped after 28 days.' I asked if there were any exemptions and who I could speak to to discuss my situation. Well, they weren't helpful at all.
After trying to get through to other Centrelink numbers three more times, which means hanging on the phone waiting for at least 45 minutes at the time listening to the same boring classical music tracks, I got nowhere and was just wasting time and suffered one anxiety attack after the other.
I looked on line for a complaint no and ended up talking to a polite and helpful woman from the complaints service. She investigated why I was so badly treated on the phone and rang me back immediately to say that my sister IS my direct family! Phew!!!
But if I wanted to be granted permission to head overseas for 6 weeks, I had to follow up all kinds of documentation from my sisters' doctors and my GP in order to receive DSP for the duration.
I couldn't see myself chasing this up while helping out in this crisis so after much consideration, my brother in law and I decided to change my flights to return to Australia within 28 days. It cost him an extra $300 to change it. Damn!
My stress levels were so high I had to take extra medication to get myself over there! Thanks to Mr. Scott Morrison who put this new law into place.
As it was on my way back from Amsterdam, my flight was delayed, I was stuck in Jakarta for 18 hours to get a connecting flight back to Melbourne and as a result I arrived 28 hours late after the cut off date. My pension was terminated, my rent paid directly to Dept. of Housing was terminated and as a result I had no payment for one month. How's that for treating someone with an anxiety disorder and PTSD?
I am still trying to recover from this experience now! A major trauma that I won't repeat in a hurry.
But where does this leave us migrants with families in our homelands? In a country where just about everyone is a migrant!
And how can I protest this law that discriminates against so many people?! It's inhumane and cruel.
Sorry, this still turned into a long story but I wanted to convey what it felt like for me and what the consquences are for my health but also to come to terms with the fact that I won't be able to support overseas family members in need anymore.
I'm in great despair about this. Where can I turn to, to make a complaint? Are there any joint actions to try and reverse this law?
We need to change this! It's discrimination at its worst.
Thank you for reading my story.
Baubo - Melbourne
