Post by Banjo on Dec 25, 2013 8:09:59 GMT 7
Coalition disability pension overhaul may move people to Newstart
Social services minister, Kevin Andrews, has not ruled out moving disability pension recipients to unemployment benefits
The social services minister has not ruled out moving people from the disability pension on to the Newstart allowance, which would cut their income by hundreds of dollars a fortnight.
Kevin Andrews has refused to rule anything in or out but has signalled that mentally ill people could be case-managed and the pensions of people under 40 could be reviewed in his overhaul of the Disability Service Pension (DSP).
The review will be headed by the former head of Mission Australia, Patrick McClure, who has been asked to complete it within a month.
Australian Council of Social Services (Acoss) CEO Cassandra Goldie said her offices had received many calls on Monday from distressed people with disabilities who were concerned about the DSP review and lack of detail about it.
“Any time there is reform in this area you’re talking about very, very modest incomes that just cover people’s basic needs like rent and food,” she said
“We must, A, protect the most vulnerable but secondly also agree the system is not delivering what it should be.”
Maree O’Halloran from National Welfare Rights said she supported a temporary DSP if the exit was to paid employment, but was concerned that people with disabilities could be moved on to the Newstart allowance, which is about $245 a week compared to the about $400 a week the DSP offers.
Goldie said the government should focus on helping the employment sector become more open to people with disabilities and said it would be “fantastic” if the Coalition was able to get more people on the DSP into jobs.
“We fully back anything the government can do to support people with disabilities into paid work,” she said.
“But the biggest barrier is changing the culture. Discrimination is alive and well in workplaces.”
Sinclair Howard, 51, has been on the DSP for 14 years and said there were many in the community who had been alarmed by the announcement and were worried about being moved on to Newstart.
Howard said his disabilities stemmed from physical and mental abuse as a child which led him to try to self-medicate as an adult with illicit drugs. According to the north-west Sydney man, the barrier to employment to many people with disabilities was inherent discrimination in workplaces across Australia.
“I would have much rather got into work [than go on the DSP but] I would need support services which are not available,” he said.
“The corporate cultures in the public or private officers, there’s just not much room for people that are a bit different.”
Howard said he would need more support on dealing with his mental health and chronic pain without pharmaceuticals which he refuses to take, but he would be willing to give any type of employment a try.
“Most people on the DSP, don’t want to be on the DSP. It’s very difficult to live on,” he said.
Howard is concerned the DSP review will lead to the scheme being grandfathered, with some recipients moved on to Newstart and tests which would make it much more difficult for many other people to access the pension.
A spokeswoman for Andrews said a move to Newstart could not be ruled out as the review was in “very, very early days” and everything was on the table.
Andrews has cited mentally ill people as a group who could be targeted by the reforms.
“For example, one third of people on DSP now are on it for psychological or mental health-related issues. So, should we have people who are specifically in that medical and related field in making some of these assessments; so should we be doing more in terms of having people whose expertise is how to get people back into work, what capacity do they have and what assistance do they need?” he told ABC radio.
“Should they be part and parcel of almost a case-managed approach to people on the DSP?”
A panel of doctors could be created to advise how long someone is likely to need DSP before they can work again and there will be a particular focus on people under 40.
“I think we have to look at people on the DSP not as a homogeneous group,” Andrews said.
“Obviously someone who, for example, is in their 60s on the DSP, and has been on it for a very long time, has very little job prospect if we were to review them. However, that can be quite different for people, say, in their 20s where there may be every opportunity, with some assistance, to get into work.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/coalition-disability-pension-overhaul-may-create-two-tiered-system
Social services minister, Kevin Andrews, has not ruled out moving disability pension recipients to unemployment benefits
The social services minister has not ruled out moving people from the disability pension on to the Newstart allowance, which would cut their income by hundreds of dollars a fortnight.
Kevin Andrews has refused to rule anything in or out but has signalled that mentally ill people could be case-managed and the pensions of people under 40 could be reviewed in his overhaul of the Disability Service Pension (DSP).
The review will be headed by the former head of Mission Australia, Patrick McClure, who has been asked to complete it within a month.
Australian Council of Social Services (Acoss) CEO Cassandra Goldie said her offices had received many calls on Monday from distressed people with disabilities who were concerned about the DSP review and lack of detail about it.
“Any time there is reform in this area you’re talking about very, very modest incomes that just cover people’s basic needs like rent and food,” she said
“We must, A, protect the most vulnerable but secondly also agree the system is not delivering what it should be.”
Maree O’Halloran from National Welfare Rights said she supported a temporary DSP if the exit was to paid employment, but was concerned that people with disabilities could be moved on to the Newstart allowance, which is about $245 a week compared to the about $400 a week the DSP offers.
Goldie said the government should focus on helping the employment sector become more open to people with disabilities and said it would be “fantastic” if the Coalition was able to get more people on the DSP into jobs.
“We fully back anything the government can do to support people with disabilities into paid work,” she said.
“But the biggest barrier is changing the culture. Discrimination is alive and well in workplaces.”
Sinclair Howard, 51, has been on the DSP for 14 years and said there were many in the community who had been alarmed by the announcement and were worried about being moved on to Newstart.
Howard said his disabilities stemmed from physical and mental abuse as a child which led him to try to self-medicate as an adult with illicit drugs. According to the north-west Sydney man, the barrier to employment to many people with disabilities was inherent discrimination in workplaces across Australia.
“I would have much rather got into work [than go on the DSP but] I would need support services which are not available,” he said.
“The corporate cultures in the public or private officers, there’s just not much room for people that are a bit different.”
Howard said he would need more support on dealing with his mental health and chronic pain without pharmaceuticals which he refuses to take, but he would be willing to give any type of employment a try.
“Most people on the DSP, don’t want to be on the DSP. It’s very difficult to live on,” he said.
Howard is concerned the DSP review will lead to the scheme being grandfathered, with some recipients moved on to Newstart and tests which would make it much more difficult for many other people to access the pension.
A spokeswoman for Andrews said a move to Newstart could not be ruled out as the review was in “very, very early days” and everything was on the table.
Andrews has cited mentally ill people as a group who could be targeted by the reforms.
“For example, one third of people on DSP now are on it for psychological or mental health-related issues. So, should we have people who are specifically in that medical and related field in making some of these assessments; so should we be doing more in terms of having people whose expertise is how to get people back into work, what capacity do they have and what assistance do they need?” he told ABC radio.
“Should they be part and parcel of almost a case-managed approach to people on the DSP?”
A panel of doctors could be created to advise how long someone is likely to need DSP before they can work again and there will be a particular focus on people under 40.
“I think we have to look at people on the DSP not as a homogeneous group,” Andrews said.
“Obviously someone who, for example, is in their 60s on the DSP, and has been on it for a very long time, has very little job prospect if we were to review them. However, that can be quite different for people, say, in their 20s where there may be every opportunity, with some assistance, to get into work.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/coalition-disability-pension-overhaul-may-create-two-tiered-system