Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2019 7:51:44 GMT 7
Common sense prevails after Parkinson's sufferer refused access to disability pension
Jamie is exactly the sort of person the disability support pension was designed for. Jamie Tartoosie had nowhere else to go.
In desperation, he wrote to A Current Affair. He tried to do things the right way, but battling the system was getting him down and he had more important things on his mind, like coping with his debilitating disease.
Jamie has Parkinson's. His condition is getting worse as time goes on. He's on heavy medication so he can perform, albeit very slowly, menial tasks like doing up his buttons or pouring a drink of water.
Incredibly, he was working up until recently. But more often his feet would freeze up and he was left motionless in the workplace. His employer said it was now a safety issue and suggested to Jamie it might be time to finish up work and go on the Disability Support Pension.
Jamie agreed. He gave it his best shot and stayed as long as he could in the workforce but it was now too hard and his Parkinson's was getting worse.
So he took himself down to his local Centrelink, only to discover he couldn't get the DSP. The system doesn't allow it. The rules have changed and now if you want to apply for the DSP, you have to do workplace training for at least 18 months.
"Who's going to employ someone with Parkinson's, knowing that they're only going to get worse and not better?" he said.
And what sort of training is there for someone who has trouble standing, speaking and performing any kind of movement?
Centrelink placed him on Newstart - the lowly-paid welfare payment for those in the job market. It's nearly half what the DSP is, and as we know from recent reports no-one can survive on it - just ask Jamie.
For his $250 a week he has $150 rent, medication to buy, utilities to pay and about $40 a week left for groceries. His mental condition is getting worse because of the financial strain he is under, let alone dealing with the disease.
When Jamie's condition became a safety issue at work, he tried to get on the disability pension at Centrelink.
That's when he contacted A Current Affair.
Now don't get us wrong, we see plenty of cases of people who have received the DSP when they shouldn't have. People with no disability but are very good at rorting the system to receive welfare. Certainly the DSP needed tightening up, but not at the expense of those who genuinely need it.
So while filming our story with him, we were working behind the scenes with the Department of Human Services in Canberra.
Jamie is currently on Newstart, and he says he struggles to make ends meet.
To their credit they got onto his case straight away and assessed him medically and financially. They discovered what Jamie was trying to tell the case workers at his local Centrelink - that he was too ill to work.
And so, Jamie received the good news from the Federal Government that he was now going to be placed on the Disability Support Pension.
Now he can concentrate on the important things in life, like dealing with his condition.
www.9news.com.au/national/a-current-affair-disability-support-pension-parkinsons-sufferer-not-allowed/fb8af231-4d51-4ddb-876d-426eaa1649f8
Jamie is exactly the sort of person the disability support pension was designed for. Jamie Tartoosie had nowhere else to go.
In desperation, he wrote to A Current Affair. He tried to do things the right way, but battling the system was getting him down and he had more important things on his mind, like coping with his debilitating disease.
Jamie has Parkinson's. His condition is getting worse as time goes on. He's on heavy medication so he can perform, albeit very slowly, menial tasks like doing up his buttons or pouring a drink of water.
Incredibly, he was working up until recently. But more often his feet would freeze up and he was left motionless in the workplace. His employer said it was now a safety issue and suggested to Jamie it might be time to finish up work and go on the Disability Support Pension.
Jamie agreed. He gave it his best shot and stayed as long as he could in the workforce but it was now too hard and his Parkinson's was getting worse.
So he took himself down to his local Centrelink, only to discover he couldn't get the DSP. The system doesn't allow it. The rules have changed and now if you want to apply for the DSP, you have to do workplace training for at least 18 months.
"Who's going to employ someone with Parkinson's, knowing that they're only going to get worse and not better?" he said.
And what sort of training is there for someone who has trouble standing, speaking and performing any kind of movement?
Centrelink placed him on Newstart - the lowly-paid welfare payment for those in the job market. It's nearly half what the DSP is, and as we know from recent reports no-one can survive on it - just ask Jamie.
For his $250 a week he has $150 rent, medication to buy, utilities to pay and about $40 a week left for groceries. His mental condition is getting worse because of the financial strain he is under, let alone dealing with the disease.
When Jamie's condition became a safety issue at work, he tried to get on the disability pension at Centrelink.
That's when he contacted A Current Affair.
Now don't get us wrong, we see plenty of cases of people who have received the DSP when they shouldn't have. People with no disability but are very good at rorting the system to receive welfare. Certainly the DSP needed tightening up, but not at the expense of those who genuinely need it.
So while filming our story with him, we were working behind the scenes with the Department of Human Services in Canberra.
Jamie is currently on Newstart, and he says he struggles to make ends meet.
To their credit they got onto his case straight away and assessed him medically and financially. They discovered what Jamie was trying to tell the case workers at his local Centrelink - that he was too ill to work.
And so, Jamie received the good news from the Federal Government that he was now going to be placed on the Disability Support Pension.
Now he can concentrate on the important things in life, like dealing with his condition.
www.9news.com.au/national/a-current-affair-disability-support-pension-parkinsons-sufferer-not-allowed/fb8af231-4d51-4ddb-876d-426eaa1649f8
