Retrospective Action

[rowdy]

A few of our members have been cut off and are heading to the SSAT. Centrelink having deemed them as 'non-resident', and heavily relying on their o/s travel prior to the time when residency wasn't an issue, just compliance with portability;

I will give you a good analogy of what this akin to. Say for example you had a 60km/ph speed limit in a certain area. However all the neighbours complained and they changed the law to 40km/ph. But yet the police wanted to still book all those for exceeding the speed limited before the law changed.

My point is prior to the changes a person only needed to be a resident to be granted the DSP. There was NO ongoing residency requirement. One just needed to comply with portability.

Centrelink are basing decision heavily on the fact that the DSPers are not resident because of their frequency and duration of travel over the last several years when there was no residency requirement.

[anotherdsp]

to rowdy,this is what they are doing,but is it within the laws??

[bundyrum]

it all changed with new laws taking effect...1/1/2012..i have just recieved my ARO lettter where she upheld my cancellation,,but with a few lies she has put in there,,,and didn.t sign it.

[anotherdsp]

i done a quick google on retrospective laws and found this,

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 15 1. No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time when the criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission of the offence, provision is made by law for the imposition of the lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.

i am not sure if it has much to do with c/l using our previous travel history against us???

[latindancer]

Thanks, anotherdsp. It certainly is relevant to this :
dspoverseas.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=theactandwhateffectsus&action=display&thread=1496&page=1

I have taken the liberty of quoting your post here in that thread.