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Post by barnsy on Mar 27, 2012 11:16:09 GMT 7
I am 50 years young and have a wife and child in Philipines, I have traveled back and forth for the last 2.5 years staying only 3 months a time. I get back to australia in early march and c/l cut my pension stopped my concession card and told me i am not a resident of australia. I have family here mother brothers and sister, uncles and aunties and 2 children i talk with regularly. I was born in australia and lived here full time for 47 years. how can they say i am not a resident, i pay rent for my accomodation i vote i have family here. help please
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Post by rowdy on Mar 27, 2012 11:33:09 GMT 7
I am 50 years young and have a wife and child in Philipines, I have traveled back and forth for the last 2.5 years staying only 3 months a time. I get back to australia in early march and c/l cut my pension stopped my concession card and told me i am not a resident of australia. I have family here mother brothers and sister, uncles and aunties and 2 children i talk with regularly. I was born in australia and lived here full time for 47 years. how can they say i am not a resident, i pay rent for my accomodation i vote i have family here. help please[/quote Barnsy, You state that your pension was cut off because Centrelink determined you were not a resident anymore. Prior to being cut off, did Centrelink ever contact by any means to discuss issues relating to your residency, or was it just a case of finding out one day you were simply cut off. ] |
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Post by spaceyone on Mar 27, 2012 11:33:11 GMT 7
Hi Barnsy.
A few of our members had their payments stopped, or severely reduced, but it was reinstated fairly quickly.
Did you receive notice in writing about them stopping your payments? If you have the letter, it should have written on it (maybe on the back) how to lodge an appeal against the decision.
Proving residency might take a bit longer. You might also try requesting a 'residency interview', to give you a chance to prove your ties to Australia, and end all doubt there.
Apply for a copy of your file, or at least the past year of your 'customer contact records' with C/L, to see what they have been up to, and so that you can argue any decisions they have been making behind the scenes.
Your first step would be an ARO appeal. Request one, and they should contact you to organise it.
Also, try phoning Welfare Rights in your capital city. Good luck!
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Post by immiadvice on Mar 27, 2012 12:05:35 GMT 7
I am 50 years young and have a wife and child in Philipines, I have traveled back and forth for the last 2.5 years staying only 3 months a time. I get back to australia in early march and c/l cut my pension stopped my concession card and told me i am not a resident of australia. I have family here mother brothers and sister, uncles and aunties and 2 children i talk with regularly. I was born in australia and lived here full time for 47 years. how can they say i am not a resident, i pay rent for my accomodation i vote i have family here. help please Barnsey, my DSP was cancelled for similar reasons a while back. It was restored a month later by the ARO. |
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Post by Banjo on Mar 27, 2012 13:53:20 GMT 7
After travelling 2 1/2 years?
Definitely a bit rough.
Having kids in Australia is a very strong residency tie.
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Post by latindancer on Mar 27, 2012 16:43:03 GMT 7
It seems they count a wife and child overseas as a stronger link than family here in Oz. I had to come back and leave my newly-married wife O/S. Keep on their backs and they will deem you resident, at least while you are here. You have to push them to do anything though. My emails were unanswered for 2 weeks at a time.
There seems to be confusion between being a resident OF Australia and being resident IN Australia.
You will always be an Australian resident.....a resident OF Australia. That cannot be taken away from you.
To receive the pension overseas you used to have to claim you were resident IN Australia (that is to say, living (residing) in Australia but overseas temporarily). What they have done now (apart from changing the legislation) is to say you are overseas so much that you can no longer claim you are there temporarily. So you are deemed to no longer be resident IN Australia, but residing overseas.
Yes, I know.....it's quite inhuman to break up families the way they are. Completely outrageous and disgusting.
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Post by Banjo on Mar 28, 2012 4:45:09 GMT 7
We worked long and hard on the legal definition of resident and residency.
I think Centrelink struggle with it as well.
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Post by barnsy on Mar 28, 2012 11:03:04 GMT 7
Hi, thanks for your response. I did not get a letter in the mail, i allready had some idea they would sneak the new rules in by chrismas. I have lodged an appeal at the local c/l here in darwin.
I will go and see legal aid re a solicitor and also contact welfare rights.
Thankyou again so much for your response.
PS. I have a friend i meet here in aus and he is in exactly the same boat but they are paying him rent assistance and has a conssesion card all done yesterday.
Thankyou once again Barnsy
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Post by barnsy on Mar 28, 2012 11:06:16 GMT 7
no they did not, when i arrived back here i went to centrelink and that is when they said to me i am never to go back to the philippines as my pension would stop immediately and that is when they said i was deemed a non resident.
Thanks for your reply
Barnsy
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Post by Banjo on Mar 28, 2012 11:57:27 GMT 7
Good luck with Legal Aid, they wouldn't touch my case last year.
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Post by rowdy on Mar 28, 2012 12:47:57 GMT 7
no they did not, when i arrived back here i went to centrelink and that is when they said to me i am never to go back to the philippines as my pension would stop immediately and that is when they said i was deemed a non resident. Thanks for your reply Barnsy Barnsy, I am a little confused. Have you actually been cut-off, or have they threatened to cut you off? |
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Post by latindancer on Mar 28, 2012 12:54:02 GMT 7
I think those of us who have had to leave spouses overseas and return to Oz should take out a class action against Centrelink for psychological pain and suffering.......inflicted on ourselves, our spouses and children (if any).
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Post by barnsy on Mar 30, 2012 7:43:42 GMT 7
I Agree we need to fight back for the pain they cause us with our families
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Post by barnsy on Mar 30, 2012 7:47:01 GMT 7
Rowdy, I am getting the bare minimum of payment with no consession card. They told me if left australia to go to my family they would terminate my pension
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Post by anotherdsp on Mar 30, 2012 8:32:05 GMT 7
to barnsy,well mate sorry hear your story mate,my ties to australia are similar to yours so prove your resident status with them,in the meantime watch how i go with this appeal i am lodging and if it goes like i have been informed an proves correct an i leave for o/s i assume you could do the same,get your resident status sorted then ring them an let them know you will leave in a few weeks,then i suppose they will deem you a non resident if you leave (on your intention to leave),get that in writing then that is what u can appeal about? look i dont know if what i am saying is right but it looks like i am a couple of steps in front of you in this process so hopefully it might help in your process??
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