Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2019 7:55:18 GMT 7
Family's carer payments cut off as they wait by son's hospital bed
Family v Centrelink
Jemilia and Wajid Hussain moved to Australia for a better life, but a bureaucratic bungle left them struggling to make ends meet even as their young son fought for his life.
The couple left Pakistan for a move down under 10 years ago.
From day one, dad Wajid has worked full time as a factory manager.
"I want to teach (my children), Australia gave me a lot, Australia showed me the way of life," he told A Current Affair.
But seven months ago, the family suffered a devastating blow.
Wajid and Jemilia's four-year-old son Hussain Yar suffered a serious seizure, and Wajid said the family had to wait 25 minutes for an ambulance.
Hussain Yar was put into an induced coma, and the family told to brace for the worst.
The little boy did wake up - but he had suffered a hypoxic brain injury, causing severe physical and developmental disability.
He may never walk, talk, eat, or sit on his own.
Wajid said he had no choice but to leave his job, where he was earning about $2000 a fortnight, and go on Centrelink, where he's paid about a third of that.
They have had to sell the family car and even their furniture.
While they were by their son's bedside in hospital, Jemilia and Wajid received a message on their MyGov account.
It stated their carer allowance had been suspended and their family assistance payment had been cancelled.
They were accused of having been outside Australia for more than six weeks.
"For a country like Australia, you don't expect these things," Wajid said.
His passport shows he hasn't been out of the country since 2017.
Wajid said he called Centrelink straight away and was told to bring his passport in to be checked.
When he did so, he was told Centrelink would be passing the matter on to the Department of Immigration.
Without payments coming in, and with huge medical costs, the family is struggling to survive.
Wajid applied to have his parents come over from Pakistan to help ease the load.
The department asked if he wanted to continue with his "old application" or start a new one, claiming his mother had already been to Australia on a three-year visa.
Wajid said she never had.
Ed Miller from GetUp claimed automated data matching processes were rife with errors.
"What we're hearing in our day-to-day interactions with people who are struggling to sort of fight back against some of the Centrelink claims that are being made against them is that there is widespread negligence and widespread inaccuracy in the way the system is currently operating," he said.
A Current Affair contacted the Department of Human Services general manager Hank Jongen.
He apologised and said the department had worked with Mr Hussain to restore his payments and pay back all his entitlements.
"For an organisation that some people completely depend on ... that's a huge mistake, it shouldn't happen," Wajid said.
Statement from Australian Border Force spokesperson
A data transfer irregularity was identified in relation to this matter. It was corrected as soon as possible after it was brought to our attention.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Statement from Centrelink
For questions about what has occurred in this case, we refer you to the Australian Border Force.
As soon as the error was brought to our attention, we worked with Mr Hussain to restore his payments and back pay all of his entitlements.
We apologise for any inconvenience or stress caused for Mr Hussain during this time.
We receive information from a range of sources to ensure ongoing eligibility for Centrelink payments. If there is incorrect information we act quickly to resolve the issue.
9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/centrelink-payments-carer-family-cut-off-for-wrong-reason-a-current-affair/8bfbd47c-c3bc-4a8f-8d20-80614a3df249
Family v Centrelink
Jemilia and Wajid Hussain moved to Australia for a better life, but a bureaucratic bungle left them struggling to make ends meet even as their young son fought for his life.
The couple left Pakistan for a move down under 10 years ago.
From day one, dad Wajid has worked full time as a factory manager.
"I want to teach (my children), Australia gave me a lot, Australia showed me the way of life," he told A Current Affair.
But seven months ago, the family suffered a devastating blow.
Wajid and Jemilia's four-year-old son Hussain Yar suffered a serious seizure, and Wajid said the family had to wait 25 minutes for an ambulance.
Hussain Yar was put into an induced coma, and the family told to brace for the worst.
The little boy did wake up - but he had suffered a hypoxic brain injury, causing severe physical and developmental disability.
He may never walk, talk, eat, or sit on his own.
Wajid said he had no choice but to leave his job, where he was earning about $2000 a fortnight, and go on Centrelink, where he's paid about a third of that.
They have had to sell the family car and even their furniture.
While they were by their son's bedside in hospital, Jemilia and Wajid received a message on their MyGov account.
It stated their carer allowance had been suspended and their family assistance payment had been cancelled.
They were accused of having been outside Australia for more than six weeks.
"For a country like Australia, you don't expect these things," Wajid said.
His passport shows he hasn't been out of the country since 2017.
Wajid said he called Centrelink straight away and was told to bring his passport in to be checked.
When he did so, he was told Centrelink would be passing the matter on to the Department of Immigration.
Without payments coming in, and with huge medical costs, the family is struggling to survive.
Wajid applied to have his parents come over from Pakistan to help ease the load.
The department asked if he wanted to continue with his "old application" or start a new one, claiming his mother had already been to Australia on a three-year visa.
Wajid said she never had.
Ed Miller from GetUp claimed automated data matching processes were rife with errors.
"What we're hearing in our day-to-day interactions with people who are struggling to sort of fight back against some of the Centrelink claims that are being made against them is that there is widespread negligence and widespread inaccuracy in the way the system is currently operating," he said.
A Current Affair contacted the Department of Human Services general manager Hank Jongen.
He apologised and said the department had worked with Mr Hussain to restore his payments and pay back all his entitlements.
"For an organisation that some people completely depend on ... that's a huge mistake, it shouldn't happen," Wajid said.
Statement from Australian Border Force spokesperson
A data transfer irregularity was identified in relation to this matter. It was corrected as soon as possible after it was brought to our attention.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Statement from Centrelink
For questions about what has occurred in this case, we refer you to the Australian Border Force.
As soon as the error was brought to our attention, we worked with Mr Hussain to restore his payments and back pay all of his entitlements.
We apologise for any inconvenience or stress caused for Mr Hussain during this time.
We receive information from a range of sources to ensure ongoing eligibility for Centrelink payments. If there is incorrect information we act quickly to resolve the issue.
9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/centrelink-payments-carer-family-cut-off-for-wrong-reason-a-current-affair/8bfbd47c-c3bc-4a8f-8d20-80614a3df249
