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Post by zorro1 on Sept 12, 2011 20:32:45 GMT 7
I am another on dsp and i can`t understand why centrelink tries to screw us over all the time. Just recently i contacted centrelink to advise them of my departure from australia & return from Philippines. After advising the person of my travel plans i was promptly told"don`t make any travel plans after january12th because parliament has passed a new law QUOTE "TO STOP YOU PEOPLE FROM LIVING OVERSEAS". I personally think that the people who make these half witted decisions have no idea the hardship they are going to cause or they just don`t care.."QUOTE "TO STOP YOU PEOPLE FROM LIVING OVERSEAS" Has anybody else had this type of aggressive encounter over the phone when advising about travel planes? My recent conversation advising them was again pleasant and simple. You have 13 weeks thats it. Im yet to encounter anything like whats posted above but dont deny it to be true, just never happens to me..
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Post by Banjo on Sept 12, 2011 20:57:53 GMT 7
C'Link International Services don't seem to make a big deal of it, they consider that their job ends at recording the fact you have left the country and making a note of the time you will return with a warning of the penalties for overstaying.
Some people consider this to be "permission" to leave the country but this is not so. No one can give you permission to leave or stay, it is a personal decision... They can just decide whether or not to pay you, and certainly don't consider themselves required to make a commitment on this before you leave.
I'm not concerned about the dates being bandied around, a read back through the forum shows that all dates mentioned earlier have been meaningless. All we can do is wait and see. I think that anyone with families overseas would have already made plans and possibly even carried them out, I know I would have.
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Post by spaceyone on Sept 12, 2011 21:00:04 GMT 7
"The main purpose of the DSP is to assist recipients with the cost of living in Australia, and to support their engagement in workforce age activities that lead to greater levels of social and economic participation."
This is just crazy as well. Welfare payments are for people who have varying degrees of barriers to having a job. Yet they are stating quite clearly that if you are not prepared to look for work, or retrain for same, you no longer qualify for a payment.
This flies in the face of the whole concept of welfare payments. I also note that they use the work 'support' us with the cost of living. Where are we supposed to get the rest of the money required to live from when we don't have a job, and/or are too sick to work anyway?
If you don't participate economically, then you deserve nothing. No matter how long you did contribute for prior to now. Same with if you don't participate socially, regardless of if you are lying in a iron lung and not looking and feeling your best and in the mood for company.
Sheesh! Who's running this joke of a department which has just reversed the whole concept of social security?
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Post by Banjo on Sept 12, 2011 21:05:10 GMT 7
For many people involved the defining of the terms "disabled" and "severely disabled" will be of great importance. I cannot stress strongly enough that getting your current medical conditions documented by qualified health professionals MUST be done NOW.
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Post by spaceyone on Sept 14, 2011 21:20:20 GMT 7
I think this new threat to people living overseas might be the culmination of what we came together to fight. Some of our members will be grandfathered, or qualify as being seriously disabled, and be able to keep their DSP. Members aged over 35 and who are pretty ill might just evade disqualification. Anyone younger that that, and who is not officially very close to dying, will have their payments cancelled.
The people that they cut off and played games with were their first attempt to set the ball in motion. Now they have refined they plan, and intend to implement it. Residency reviews will be their next attack.
I was sent a copy of a letter from Centrelink International in relation to this. I retyped it rather than attach a picture file, to make it easier to read.
Centrelink International Hobart TAS 7001
1 September 2011
Changes to Disability Support Pension
We are writing to advise you about a change to the residence rules for Disability Support Pension and about upcoming reviews.
From 1 July 2011 only permanent Australian residents are eligible for Disability Support Pension. This means that Australia needs to be a customer's permanent place of residence in order for the DSP to continue being paid.
This change affects all DSP customers who do not live in Australia permanently, with the following specific exemptions:
* Customers who are eligible to be paid under the provisions of an international social security agreement will continue to be paid under the terms of that agreement.
* Customers who are terminally ill and wish to leave Australia permanently to be with family or return to their country of origin will continue to be paid indefinitely.
* Customers who were outside Australia on 1 July 2004 and were told that they could be paid indefinitely and have not returned to live in Australia since will continue to be paid indefinitely.
This change does not affect DSP customers who leave Australia temporarily. A customer can be paid for up to 13 weeks for a temporary absence from Australia.
Important Information
In deciding whether a customer is residing in Australia under social security law, Centrelink takes into account factors such as the customer's domestic, financial and family ties to Australia, their ties to other countries, the frequency and duration of any absences from Australia and the reasons for such absences.
Centrelink intends to conduct residence reviews to identify DSP customers who may have ceased to be Australian residents. These reviews will commence after 1 January 2012, to allow customers enough time to adjust to the new residence requirements. After that date, we will contact all customers who have been selected for a review, to discuss their individual circumstances.
As part of the 2011-2012 Budget, the Australian Government announced a new measure which proposes to provide unlimited portability for DSP customers who are permanently and severely disabled and are assessed as having no future work capacity. This is expected to commence from 1 July 2012, subject to the passage of legislation. For more information about this measure go to www. humanservices.gov.au/corporate/publications-and-resources/budget/index and click on Disability and Illness.
You may also be interested to know that former Australian resident rules are not changing.
Former Australian residents who have had their payment stopped and who return to live permanently in Australia can test their eligibility for DSP on their return. However, under these rules a person's payment will stop if they depart from Australia again within two years of their return.
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Post by spaceyone on Sept 14, 2011 21:23:17 GMT 7
This information is from the link to the Human Services website provided in the letter shown below. There is a question and answer section for this information at the link provided. Indefinite portability for permanently disabled Disability Support Pension recipients who have no work capacityDescription of the measure From 1 July 2012, people with a permanent disability who receive Disability Support Pension (DSP) and have no future work capacity and who wish to leave Australia to be with friends and family will remain payable outside Australia indefinitely. DSP customers who leave Australia and wish to remain payable under this new measure for more than 13 weeks will be required to have a new work capacity assessment before their departure. This measure acknowledges that DSP customers should be able to continue receiving income support outside Australia where there is no expectation of workforce participation. Currently, DSP is generally only payable for the first 13 weeks of a temporary absence from Australia. After 13 weeks, DSP is suspended and subsequently cancelled if the customer has not returned to Australia. This measure will provide health cost savings and ease the demand on nursing home places and aged care facilities in Australia. www.humanservices.gov.au/corporate/publications-and-resources/budget/measures/disability-and-illness/9888
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Post by crackers on Oct 12, 2011 10:53:10 GMT 7
Why are we pensioners being singled out for this absolutely ridiculous change to living overseas. If the government want`s to stop us living o`seas they have got a fight on their hands. How can some pencil pusher make these decisions it is beyond me. I honestly think they don`t like to see us do it easy while they travel o`seas and waste millions of taxpayer dollars on "JUNKET TRIPS".
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Post by Banjo on Oct 13, 2011 16:53:28 GMT 7
Our members worked hard this year after people lost their pensions on residency grounds and it looks like the rules will change next year with better portability for people who want to travel or live outside Australia. Minister Macklin's press release last May shows a change of attitude by the government compared to the same time last year.
file:///C:/Users/hp/Documents/DSP%20File/media%20release%20May%202011.htm
New rules for overseas travel for people with severe disability
The Government also recognises that the DSP is an essential safety net for those who cannot work.
New, more generous rules from 1 July 2012, will allow people receiving DSP who have a permanent disability and no future work capacity, to travel overseas for more than 13 weeks while retaining access to their pension.
In addition, DSP recipients who are severely disabled and are required to accompany a family member who has been posted overseas by their Australian employer will be entitled to continue to receive their pension for the period of the family member’s posting. These pensioners will not be eligible for add-on payments such as the Pension Supplement or Rent Assistance while they are overseas. These changes deliver a net saving of $19.0 million over four years.
Existing portability rules will continue to apply to DSP recipients who may have some ability to work. Other working age payments will not be affected by these changes to portability arrangements.
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Post by brad61 on Nov 21, 2011 10:45:21 GMT 7
Hi guys ...i just got back here in the philippines ,was home in aus for 1 week to catch up with friends and fam and my obligatory 13 weeks return..when i rang centerlink to tell them of my return to the philippines i thought id ask if there was any updated info on the portability issue/rules, the guy informed me that they still dont know much, but when more info or guidelines were available that..i quote' The public usually knows what going on before we do "....another question id like to ask is if one does pass the assessment and deemed unable to work and qualifies for portability overseas..wishes to live overseas but not in a country that aus has an agreement with where does that leave them after being assest unable to work..in limbo i guess ?..or will the same rules apply as now with the 13 weeks if so does the residency issue then still come into effect or not?..i really feel sorry for some of the guys who have posted about having families overseas..im just wondering how many g'fs/ spouse will end up coming on tourists visa's then overstaying to be with there loved one out of desperation...has the gov thought of this and what impact it may cause
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Post by Banjo on Nov 21, 2011 14:33:31 GMT 7
I have sent an email to the Minister asking for clarification on this issue.
When I read the press release I took this...
New, more generous rules from 1 July 2012, will allow people receiving DSP who have a permanent disability and no future work capacity, to travel overseas for more than 13 weeks while retaining access to their pension.
.... to mean that we can stay overseas longer with our pensions still paid in Australia.
Having said that we still have more 30 weeks to wait and see.
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Post by rodcourt49 on Nov 21, 2011 16:01:17 GMT 7
'banjo'..on the one hand we're told there are changes afoot for some DSP recipients qualifying for indefinite portability (July 2012), ie deemed unemployable and have a permanent disability. In my case I meet the above criteria and yet have been told I am about to be grilled on "residency and intent" this week and if I'm not back in Australia as of January 1, 2012 the benefit will be cut..as we already know. So, what happens in the interim..I either return within 13 weeks and have my DSP reinstated in Australia, or stay out up to 26 weeks without any payment and on return can have my DSP reinstated, or if I stay out longer than 26 weeks I will have to reapply for DSP on my return. And then in July 2012 I can leave indefinitely. This all very confusing ad I hope to get it all clarified on Thursday. Perhaps Jenny Macklin can clarify this as well 'banjo' whilst she's at it?
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Post by brad61 on Nov 22, 2011 4:24:22 GMT 7
whats the chance of a swift reply from her banjo....
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Post by brad61 on Nov 22, 2011 4:27:35 GMT 7
what country are you in redcourt ?
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Post by rodcourt49 on Nov 22, 2011 7:00:17 GMT 7
what country are you in redcourt ? my name is rodcourt49. It is irrelevant where each of us reside and of a private nature as there ae obviously moles out there, so you can see why we try to avoid openly revealing sensitive information .if you want to know more about me please PM me..Im happy to talk.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2011 7:11:41 GMT 7
whats the chance of a swift reply from her banjo.... If you are lucky you may get a reply in 3 months.
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