NSW cuts funds to Welfare Rights Centre

[Banker]

The New South Wales Government has defended a decision to end funding for the Welfare Rights Centre.

The centre helps individuals and families negotiate Centrelink decisions, with clients including vulnerable families, young people, those with disabilities, the unemployed and the elderly.

It has been co-funded by the State Government for the past 30 years.

Centre director Maree O'Halloran argues its work also directly benefits the state.

"Although Centrelink is a Commonwealth agency, the realised benefits happen for New South Wales citizens living in New South Wales, making sure that they have proper income support and no debt and also taking pressure of other New South Wales services," she said.

Ms O'Halloran says the state's money will be devastating.

"I hope it's not a fatal blow," she said.

"We're determined to make sure our service can keep providing help to the people we do.

"We have so much case work preventing homelessness, stopping children being removed from homes.

"We are a very important service."

But the Community Services Minister Pru Goward says her department's core responsibility now is protecting vulnerable children.

"That's what our money should be spent on," she said.

"It's the Commonwealth's job to ensure that the Welfare Rights Centre is properly funded to assist it with advice and representation around Centrelink payments and social security law.

"It's Commonwealth law so it should be Commonwealth funded."

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-16/nsw-cuts-funds-to-welfare-rights-centre/4631310?section=nsw

[Banker]

I tried to put this under General Topics but I kept being logged out...Thank you Banjo.

[Banjo]

I have another topic on this but I'll use this one.

WRG in New south Wales have had their funding cut by the new Liberal government, this is their advice for people concerned about it.

Cuts to Welfare Rights Sydney - what can I do to help?

Funding cut

On Thursday 11 April 2013, FACS told Welfare Rights Sydney they would not fund us after 30 June 2013.

In effect, WRC will lose 40% of our funding. We will have to significantly reduce our services to the people of New South Wales. It will reduce our capacity to advise and represent NSW residents with Centrelink problems – we will have to stop providing daily advice to NSW residents about their Centrelink problems; we will have to cut back on the casework assistance provided to Centrelink recipients. There will be a lot of very vulnerable people in NSW who "fall through the cracks" and will not get the social security payments they are entitled to because they cannot deal with Centrelink bureaucracy, or cannot appeal wrong Centrelink decisions by themselves.

What is the Welfare Rights Centre, Sydney?

The Welfare Rights Centre (WRC), Sydney, is a community legal centre specialising in social security law and its administration by Centrelink. WRC can advise people about their social security rights, entitlements and obligations and assist people through the social security review and appeals system. WRC is entirely independent from Centrelink.

Background to NSW Government funding

WRC was founded in 1983 with funding from the NSW Department of Community Services (DOCS). Since its foundation in 1983, WRC has built up expertise in helping people through the social security maze. DOCS (now Family and Community Services - FACS) continued to fund the Centre for 30 years, enabling us to provide specialist legal advice on social security advice to more than 4000 people in NSW each year.

On top of that, we have run cases and advocated on behalf of hundreds of people each year, and have successfully lobbied successive Federal Governments to fix countless problems and injustices with the social security system.

What can you do to help?

If you would like to help we would urge you to write a letter explaining why you think it is vital that Welfare Rights funding be restored.

Minister Pru Goward is the minister responsible for Community Services funding. However, it is not only children and families who will be affected. We provide invaluable services to people who are very vulnerable or particularly disadvantaged in their dealings with Centrelink including people:

- with intellectual and physical disabilities,

- who are very young or very old,

- experiencing mental health problems,

- from Aboriginal communities,

- from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and

- experiencing homelessness or other life crises.

This means that all the following ministers should also be made aware of the impacts of funding cuts to our Centre:

The Hon. Barry O’Farrell MP, Premier of NSW

The Hon. Barry O'Farrell, MP
GPO Box 5341, SYDNEY NSW 2001

Ph: 9228 5239

[e-mail]

The Hon Pru Goward MP, Minister for Family and Community Services, and Minister for Women

Level 34 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000

Phone [phone]
[e-mail]

The Hon Andrew Constance MP, Minister for Ageing and Disability Services
Level 34 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000

Phone [phone]

[e-mail]

The Hon. Greg Smith MP, Attorney General, and Minister for Justice
Level 31 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000

Phone [phone]
[e-mail]

The Hon. Kevin Humphries MP, Minister for mental health

Level 33 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000

Phone [phone]
[e-mail]

It is important that letters are not all exactly the same, but we have attached a sample letter that might help you get started.

The Welfare Rights Centre thanks you sincerely for your support!

More information about what we do

For 30 years, the Welfare Rights Centre Sydney has assisted vulnerable and disadvantaged people in NSW. Below we highlight 15 good reasons why the NSW Government should restore funding to our Centre.

1. The Centre helps young people:

Example: We represented a 16 year old homeless girl who had been asked to leave home. The girl had been couch surfing with no income support payments for six months when she contacted the Centre. Her family relationships at home had broken down and she had witnessed extreme family violence. We helped her get payments from Centrelink, re-enrol with a school program designed for young people affected by homelessness. After her payments were granted, she was able to obtain accommodation.

2. The Centre helps former refugees:

Example: We helped a former refugee with a large debt of $15,000 debt. She had significant mental health issues and had also answered “yes” a number of times on Centrelink forms about the fact that she was receiving periodic compensation after an injury at work, but this was never picked up on. We were successful in having her debt waived in view of her special circumstances.

3. The Centre helps people with substance abuse or gambling problems:

Example: We helped a man with significant mental health issues and a significant gambling addiction in getting back on payments. This involved a reduction of his “compensation preclusion period”, or period of time during which he could not receive any payments from Centrelink because of compensation previously received.

4. We help people with disabilities:

Example: We represented a homeless Disability Support Pensioner in an appeal about whether or not she was a member of a couple. Around $90,000 of her debt was found not to exist and her payments were restored, allowing her to start the process of trying to find accommodation.

5. We help those with a mental illness:

Example: Our Centre represented a mother of five children was successful in having her $23,000 waived due to her special circumstances including her mental health conditions which included bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, severe depression and anxiety.

6. We help Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people:

Example: We represented an Aboriginal mother whom Centrelink had raised significant debts against after her children had left her place to stay with a relative while she sorted out her housing issues. We were successful in having Centrelink agree that she remained the principal carer of her children at all times and in finding her debts did not exist.

7. We help homeless people:

Example: We represented a homeless man with significant mental health issues and a substance abuse problem in asking for his compensation preclusion period to be reduced. At the time that he contacted our Centre he was reduced to stealing food to survive. We were successful in having his special circumstances accepted and in getting him back on payments

8. We help people with caring or family responsibilities:

Example: We represented a single father who was caring for his son who had significant disabilities and care needs. We helped him in having his shared care arrangement with the child’s mother accepted by Centrelink as still qualifying him for Carer Payment after they rejected it as not being constant care.

9. We help people affected by income management:

Example: We appealed a decision to income manage a person in Bankstown on the grounds that Centrelink had not considered whether income management was appropriate in their circumstances.

10. We help victims of domestic or family violence:

Example: Our Centre represented a young former refugee who had to leave her step-father’s house following severe family violence. Through our intervention she was able to start receiving Youth Allowance on the grounds that it was “unreasonable to live at home”.

11. We help people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds:

Example: Our Centre helped a non-English speaking age pensioner in having her payments restored for where Centrelink had incorrectly made an assumption that she was a member of a couple.

12. We help single parents:

Example: The Centre represented a single mother who had a debt of around $65,000 which had been raised because Centrelink said she had lied about being single for the last seven years. We were successful in showing that she was telling the truth and was not a member of a couple and in having Centrelink agree that debt should not have been raised.

13. We work with other community organisations:

We deliver community legal education, and regularly meet with other community organisations to collaborate together on helping our shared clients.

14. We help people understand the system and what changes will mean for them:

We produce large numbers of factsheets and plain English guides to common social security problems.

15. We’re a public voice for those who receive social security and family assistance payments:

We speak publicly in relation to social security and family assistance payments issues. Many social security recipients are reluctant to speak to the media because of the stigma involved. We stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

[zorro1]

Slowly but surely they are closing all the doors, 1st the 6 week rule which will be 3 weeks pretty soon IMO and now Welfare rights!

Goods reasons to get the hell out if your a traveler.

[Banker]

Welfare Rights do a great job in helping people like us. I never knew about W.R until I joined this forum.

We are seeing the start of many Government cuts, this will continue in both State and Federal Governments, the reason is so the Politicans can still get their benefits and pay rise.

You can close this topic any time you wish Banjo.

[Banjo]

Politics aside, you are wrong.
The pay and benefits to politicians is a drop in the ocean, it's all sleight of hand, smoke and mirrors if you will, to distract you from the real issues of jobs going overseas and hidden unemployment figures.

Whoops, Banjo's made a political statement, thread closed.

[Banjo]

Don't worry aussieinusa I'll make this a sticky to keep the thread at the top.