Post by Denis-NFA on May 10, 2012 19:35:35 GMT 7
Greetings to All,
Came to this site by doing a Google search on "Australian DSP overseas".
Thanks Banjo and Banker (read your personal stories) and whomever else has been involved in making this forum happen.
I have tried to check out most of this forum since posts dated April and briefly scanned www.australianpensioner.org - all good stuff.
I started visiting a little country town in the middle of an island which is in the middle of the Philippines in May 2011 to find peace and health and happiness for maybe the first time.
I became a number with C/L back in 1990 after 6 traumatic events within a 4 month period. One of those traumatic events included having everything I owned destroyed when a house I was living in after separating from the mother of my 2 children was destroyed when it burnt to the ground.
Because I had no primary original documents I had to wait 3 months before the then C/L 'rules' would accept my claim for assistance.
In August 2010 I was made homeless, applied for Newstart, found a mens' shelter to live in, got assigned to a job network manager and assessed for work capacity.
2 things rapidly happened. The homeless shelter fast tracked me for streets to home program so that I gained public housing accommodation within 2 months and the job network provider, at my request, started to provide me with administrative assistance to apply to C/L for the DSP.
My case manager at the Job Net Provider said she had never heard, and by implication the Job Net Provider network, had never heard of anyone being granted the DSP in such a short time. I cried when I was accepted.
I guess I was 'lucky'.
In February 2011, via a string of coincidences from being at the homeless shelter, I met and started internet chatting with a Philippina woman.
I checked out the C/L rules as I understood them and determined that I could go for 13 weeks overseas. My 2 children had been overseas but I never, ever was going o/s. Australia being G-ds own country and all.
And I went and returned one day outside the 91 days so I lost a day's pay.
And my visit changed my life.
In the 3 months after my visit o/s I gave away everything I owned, gave up the public housing unit and left at the end of November 2011.
And I am sh*t frightened of flying!
So far I have flown to Singapore, Manila and Hong Kong.
I relocated myself for departure and return to Australia to Darwin when my 13 weeks expired in February 2012. Its 4.5 hours direct flight from Darwin to Manila and I am due to return to check in with C/L next Wednesday 16th May. Fly back to Manila on 19th and return in August.
Meanwhile, here in the Philippines I have to renew my visa every 2 months to stay because I am, and always will be, an Australian.
What got me searching is that C/L, via online letters, notified me that my Pension supplement is reduced to $20 per fortnight from the 25th May.
I have been scared of the Australian government not having enough money to pay anyone's pension and when I saw that I was being cut back I panicked and started trying to contact them and panicked again at the thought of what they can do in the budget.
But finding and following this forum has restored my confidence.
After writing all this I'm a bit tired but I would encourage everyone to go over to the .org site and read Banjo and Bankers stories. Kind of a primer of what to do and what not to do.
And you are never alone. I have read some of the personal stories on this forum and I identify.
I'll help in whatever way I can.
They granted my DSP on 3 genuine grounds,
COPD (its a bastard);
Profound deafness (its a bastard); and
PTSD (from 40 years ago and its been my bastard).
May your G-d go with you.
PS. I don't necessarily like the man but always remember the song by Tom Petty called "I won't back down".
Cheers
Came to this site by doing a Google search on "Australian DSP overseas".
Thanks Banjo and Banker (read your personal stories) and whomever else has been involved in making this forum happen.
I have tried to check out most of this forum since posts dated April and briefly scanned www.australianpensioner.org - all good stuff.
I started visiting a little country town in the middle of an island which is in the middle of the Philippines in May 2011 to find peace and health and happiness for maybe the first time.
I became a number with C/L back in 1990 after 6 traumatic events within a 4 month period. One of those traumatic events included having everything I owned destroyed when a house I was living in after separating from the mother of my 2 children was destroyed when it burnt to the ground.
Because I had no primary original documents I had to wait 3 months before the then C/L 'rules' would accept my claim for assistance.
In August 2010 I was made homeless, applied for Newstart, found a mens' shelter to live in, got assigned to a job network manager and assessed for work capacity.
2 things rapidly happened. The homeless shelter fast tracked me for streets to home program so that I gained public housing accommodation within 2 months and the job network provider, at my request, started to provide me with administrative assistance to apply to C/L for the DSP.
My case manager at the Job Net Provider said she had never heard, and by implication the Job Net Provider network, had never heard of anyone being granted the DSP in such a short time. I cried when I was accepted.
I guess I was 'lucky'.
In February 2011, via a string of coincidences from being at the homeless shelter, I met and started internet chatting with a Philippina woman.
I checked out the C/L rules as I understood them and determined that I could go for 13 weeks overseas. My 2 children had been overseas but I never, ever was going o/s. Australia being G-ds own country and all.
And I went and returned one day outside the 91 days so I lost a day's pay.
And my visit changed my life.
In the 3 months after my visit o/s I gave away everything I owned, gave up the public housing unit and left at the end of November 2011.
And I am sh*t frightened of flying!
So far I have flown to Singapore, Manila and Hong Kong.
I relocated myself for departure and return to Australia to Darwin when my 13 weeks expired in February 2012. Its 4.5 hours direct flight from Darwin to Manila and I am due to return to check in with C/L next Wednesday 16th May. Fly back to Manila on 19th and return in August.
Meanwhile, here in the Philippines I have to renew my visa every 2 months to stay because I am, and always will be, an Australian.
What got me searching is that C/L, via online letters, notified me that my Pension supplement is reduced to $20 per fortnight from the 25th May.
I have been scared of the Australian government not having enough money to pay anyone's pension and when I saw that I was being cut back I panicked and started trying to contact them and panicked again at the thought of what they can do in the budget.
But finding and following this forum has restored my confidence.
After writing all this I'm a bit tired but I would encourage everyone to go over to the .org site and read Banjo and Bankers stories. Kind of a primer of what to do and what not to do.
And you are never alone. I have read some of the personal stories on this forum and I identify.
I'll help in whatever way I can.
They granted my DSP on 3 genuine grounds,
COPD (its a bastard);
Profound deafness (its a bastard); and
PTSD (from 40 years ago and its been my bastard).
May your G-d go with you.
PS. I don't necessarily like the man but always remember the song by Tom Petty called "I won't back down".
Cheers
?