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Post by dspete on Jul 20, 2012 8:49:09 GMT 7
All I know is, I wanted to go overseas for 6 months, and while overseas I get a call from C/L, saying my DSP will be cut off, this call came 1 week after I landed overseas.
It's too much for me to write the details of my case, I'm depressed enough as it is now, my return flight is in December 2012.
I'm not sure what will will happen to my DSP.
I do not know what to do, what steps to take, what questions to ask, what to say and what not to say.
I was assured today after calling the people at C/L International, due to thier increased workload, my pending review will take longer than 13 weeks.
I feel "safer" now financialy, I can complete my 6 month family visits, family that we will never see each other again, due to our ages.....
Had I known I was going to go through all this BS, I would not have traveled and kept my hard saved pension money.
I will be 55 this year, and my issues don't get better, how dare they "asses" what I "can do" ?
How on earth did this new assesment BS get me a score of 5 points and not the required 20 ?
WTF is going on, can some one share some light on this please.
What do I have to do now, what are the first steps of this first pending review due in September 2012 ?
Thanks,
and many more thanks to be able to come here and have a voice.
Lost and very Confused Aussie while Overseas !
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Post by Denis-NFA on Jul 20, 2012 9:49:50 GMT 7
Hey dspete,
I feel for you mate and at least you have come to the right place.
There are a lot better people than me that can give you advice but I'd encourage you to start reading as much of this as you can, particularly since about April.
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Post by anotherdsp on Jul 20, 2012 9:55:43 GMT 7
welcome dspete,when did they say they would stop payment?when did you leave aust? did you talk to C/L/int proir to departure?when were you reassed? what is the reveiw due in sept 2012? we are only allowed 13 weeks o/s before payment stopped.is your 13 weeks up in sept 2012?
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Post by Banjo on Jul 20, 2012 10:00:48 GMT 7
Welcome to the board Pete, sounds like they are going to continue to pay you until the review?
What this should be is an interview on the phone about where you live, you will have to show you live in Australia by pointing out things like a long term address, property and car ownership, etc etc.
Did they warn you before you left that your residency was at risk?
That seems to be standard practice and we had a couple of people here have the same thing happen after they took the risk and left anyway.
I negotiated a shorter time away and got away with it which puts me in a position to apply for the new unlimited portability... plenty about that on the forum but it doesn't help you much now.
Stick it out and see what happens, you might like to give Welfare Rights in your home state a ring and ask them to talk to Centrelink on your behalf.
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Post by freedom on Jul 25, 2012 15:16:32 GMT 7
Hi All..
I myself is in Thailand at this time.
I have a son in thailand and he relise on me and I have a big court case coming up in August 29 regarding full coustody of my son. If I have to stay only for 6 weeks at a time it will make it very heard for my son as I dont want to leave him with strangers just becouse I have to retun to Australia before the 13 week so I dont have a stop on DSP. If that happens I cant aford to have it stoped as my son relys on me taking car of him.
WHAT DO I DO? HELP PLEASE..
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Post by Banjo on Jul 25, 2012 15:57:39 GMT 7
Welcome to the board freedom.
Are you on a normal 13 week stay at the moment?
You can extend that to 26 weeks but you don't get paid for the second 13 which may or may not be an option.
If you come back you can tell Centrelink you are going for another 13 weeks and go back to Thailand immediately.
BUT....
They may decide that this is too much time away and threaten you with loss of pension if you leave.
The 6 weeks you refer to comes in after 1st January next year.
I think you need to talk to someone at Centrelink International ASAP and get some sort of a decision from them, if that turns bad then we'll put you onto the Welfare Rights group.
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Post by ozzydave on Jul 29, 2012 18:04:20 GMT 7
HI im newby here , but have some questions in regards to portability , i just got back from O/S and was gone for around 7 weeks i let them know prior to leaving and all is good etc , i initially tryed phoning them to let them know i was back , but after 30 minutes waiting decided to physically go down to the centrelink office where i waited another 30 minutes inline , but got that soughted , at the desk i asked the lady if i was to go again for up to 13 weeks etc , would that be a problem, she said she didnt know , because the people at the desk arent trained in what she called " the new program" And to go and check the website " humansevices" I did and also found taht very vague in terms of multiple trips per year /time away and when they start going " um i think youve been away to much , we might review you " the new system just seems like a way of making things difficult in terms of communication , thus risking getting cut off , because of lack there of ...and 2 it seem very vague in terms of how long you can exactly stay away , even if you do all the right things and get back under 13 weeks ..The january thing appears on first glimpse to only allow people to stay away for 6 weeks , yet you have someone else saying that portability is actually being extended ?? All very confusing , i find on one hand centrelink on the surface seem to be streamlining things , when in actual fact its all about staff cut backs , kicking people of the pension at any chance they get and making things difficult , which also leads to money saving ..HUman services what a slap in the face name that is !! So yeh my biggest questions are , " how long can you stay away if you do all the right things prior to leaving and come back within the 13 week period ? Id it twice a year ? Or is it just up to some pencil pusher who may or may not like the look or sound of you ? regards Dave .
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Post by Banjo on Jul 29, 2012 19:00:51 GMT 7
Welcome to the board Dave.
Give Centrelink International a ring about going away again, if you don't want to use your phone go down and use their's.
You should be able to go away for 13 weeks if you leave this year, if you leave after January it's 6 weeks.
How many trips you can do will depend on how many you've already done, if you have multiple for the last few years... say 2 or 3 a year you could get the rug pulled out from under you.
Next year will be a new ball game, new rules, a new learning curve.
The extended portability will also depend on new rules, if Centrelink decide you have no future work capability you can trave as you please for as long as you like.
It only came in this month so no one has it yet but we should be finding out soon.
If you want to apply ring Centrelink International and they will send the forms out.
Personally I'd wait a little until it's been tested.
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Post by ozzydave on Jul 29, 2012 21:36:16 GMT 7
Thanks Banjo , my worry is i havnt been to a doctor for years and when i have been the last few times and suggested they take me on board for my back injury with centrelink as back up , they seem to freek out ..I dont know the whole thing worries me if i get reviewed it could be bad for me without a decent doctor to back me up , i havnt been reviewed before ..But before i went on dsp i tryed everything for work and found i was in too much , so it was a last option for me to go on dsp , i dont know how id go without it etc ..So from what you said myabe i should travel before january , do they have a direct phone to Centrelink international ? I couldnt seem to find that ..anyway thanks for the feedback Banjo
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Post by Banjo on Jul 30, 2012 4:58:07 GMT 7
Phone 131673 in Australia.
Other numbers from overseas here.
From Austria 0800 295 165 (free call)
From Canada 1888 2557 493 (free call)
From Denmark 8088 3556 (free call)
From Germany 0800 180 2482 (free call)
From Greece 0080 0611 26209 (free call)
From Italy 800 781 977 (free call)
From the Netherlands 0800 0224 364 (free call)
From New Zealand 0800 441 248 (free call)
From Philippines 1800 1611 0046 (free call)
From Portugal 800 861 122 (free call)
From Spain 900 951 547 (free call)
From Turkey 00 800 6190 5703 (free call)
From UK 0800 169 5865 (free call)
From USA 1866 3433 086 (free call)
From other countries +61 3 6222 3455 (you can reverse the charges)
The main problem with applying for the new portability is, as you have worked out, is that it is classed as a review of your pension and you have to re qualify under the new impairment tables.
For what it's worth, I don't think this will hold up in the appeals system and I intend to test it personally, now this isn't as heroic as it sounds, I'm on the OAP in less than a year but if I had 10 years to go my plan may change a bit.
As I said, sit back a bit and see which way the ball bounces.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2012 17:23:34 GMT 7
Welcome to the board Dave. Give Centrelink International a ring about going away again, if you don't want to use your phone go down and use their's. You should be able to go away for 13 weeks if you leave this year, if you leave after January it's 6 weeks. How many trips you can do will depend on how many you've already done, if you have multiple for the last few years... say 2 or 3 a year you could get the rug pulled out from under you. Next year will be a new ball game, new rules, a new learning curve. The extended portability will also depend on new rules, if Centrelink decide you have no future work capability you can trave as you please for as long as you like. It only came in this month so no one has it yet but we should be finding out soon. If you want to apply ring Centrelink International and they will send the forms out. Personally I'd wait a little until it's been tested. Well i go out in November for my second trip this year. It will be interesting what is said when i ring to say i am going out. Next year will be the crunch to see how many times i am allowed to go. I will keep you informed. |
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Post by Banjo on Jul 30, 2012 17:42:42 GMT 7
I really can't see you having a problem, a couple of short or 6 week trips a year should be ok.
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Post by howdo on Jul 31, 2012 7:20:45 GMT 7
I really can't see you having a problem, a couple of short or 6 week trips a year should be ok. I haven't seen anything saying how many trips you can have, I take it you can go come back and go straight out again until such time they hit you with the residency bullshit. |
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Post by melnee on Oct 31, 2012 23:09:51 GMT 7
Hi I am new to this whole process also & just came back from Aussie after being cut off for this 13 week crap.. partly due to an "error" on centrestinks  part. I had many discussions with various personnel and one main thing that was said and recorded on my file by an employee with a brain was..quote.. "it is none of our business how many times you go out of the country nor where or why, as long as you are in & out within the 13 weeks there is nothing we can do & there are no legal rules as to how many times you leave. You only have to step foot into the country get your passport stamped and if you want you can stay in the airport & leave again" I also had a large problem with a rude employee when I called from o/s to ask why i had been cut off and what did i need to do to get it back. ( This woman was the bitch from hell & she will be getting demoted due to her disgusting treatment of me & also lying to me saying she was a review officer. She crapped herself when I told her I would not be waiting for a tribunal answer I will be going straight to the ombudsman & external legal avenues & that the local Aussie Embassy was aware of centrestinks contribution to the reason I was cut off (to much info to write here) but basically I pushed her into a corner where she had to write a lot of notes about my case & lied..(.lucky I had been recording the conversation) She is also documented as saying ..quote... "as long as you are in & out within the 13 week time limit there is nothing we can do but be aware this changes to 6 weeks from the first of Jan & if you leave again on or before the 31st Dec you are still under the 13 week rule until you have to return again. I have PTSD amongst other medical problems and she kept yelling at me when i quietly & politely & repeatedly asked her not to yell as this causes me a lot of distress..hence her demotion. I have been in & out of Aussie within those 13 weeks for 18 months now & I only called the 1st time & was told "as long as you are in & out you don't have to call. This woman confirmed that this is true however it is better for you (but not a necessity) so we can give you the date by when you need to return so you don't get cut off your dsp. I was reviewed 1 yr ago as general dsp procedure, only via a quick phone call no Dr's etc. As i pay rent in Aussie (a very small amount to my sister) I cannot be deemed as "living out of the country permanently." I am now in the beginning of the process to apply to be somehow exempt from this 13 or 6 week rule, I haven't spoken to international services yet but will keep you posted. My big problem is that some staff know the rules and others just think they they do & some think I am on a beach somewhere sipping pina colada's & they are paying me to do this from their own pocket. In fact I am living in a village in a 3rd world country like a local but am able to seek better medical treatment (more natural therapies that keep me off large amounts of narcotic medication and I am safe from my ex (domestic violence who was convicted of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm & I still see Psyche's Dr's & i can afford massage therapies that I cannot afford to pay for in Aussie on a dsp.) So i will be challenging them on many points because this rule is clearly not about whether or not I am still eligible for a dsp or I would not be allowed to come and go without review of my medical condition. This is a political rule, if I had to be assessed every time I came back to Aussie I would have more respect & understanding of this rule. Centrestink is full of uninformed bullies who "make decisions for you based on their judgment of your situation, not the law. Thank you for so much information from this forum it is really helping with my plan of attack and i am not afraid to involve departments above centrestink & if necessary the media. I am actually saving the government money by staying out of the country due to my particular circumstances as I pay for my own health care & medications etc & alleviate the need for them to pay many things including a carer, governments assisted housing, medicare etc...The only reason there is a problem is because of this 13/6 week rule. I'm sure the public would love to hear how centrestink wants me to live in Aussie & waste more of their tax dollars. I also do work as a consumer advocate (I do this service for free) & am happy to help anyone I can, from writing letters & talking on your behalf if you are finding them difficult to deal with. ;D Melnee |
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Post by Banker on Nov 1, 2012 8:10:42 GMT 7
Hi Melnee,
Welcome to our forum. A lot of what your saying has been the experience of many of our members and also many other pensioners that don't know about our forum
You found a C/L employee with a brain... Now that is different.
Talking to C/L staff you will get a lot of wrong information, I asked the same question to three different staff and got three different answers this is common. The reason is because they don't know and will tell you anything just to get rid of you because you are causing them work, this was told to me by a staff member at C/L international who had been there for over 20 years. This is why I tell all of our members to get receipt numbers for calls also tape the call if you can. Its also very important to get decisions in writing don't just take their word for it.
C/L dont care if you are getting treatment overseas that may help you more than the medical treatment you can get in Australia, everything is now being based on your residency ties to Australia.
Please let us know how you get on.
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part. I had many discussions with various personnel and one main thing that was said and recorded on my file by an employee with a brain was..quote.. "it is none of our business how many times you go out of the country nor where or why, as long as you are in & out within the 13 weeks there is nothing we can do & there are no legal rules as to how many times you leave. You only have to step foot into the country get your passport stamped and if you want you can stay in the airport & leave again"