Centrelink robodebt raised against dead disability pensioner
Automated Centrelink debts, described by critics as robodebts, have been criticised by legal groups because they require welfare recipients to prove they do not owe any money.
Resources
Meet the woman who spent 22 months applying for the Disability Support Pension
The 23-year-old had been trying to get on the Disability Support Pension since late 2015, but it took her 22 months before she was even able to complete an application.
DSP & Me: Your guide to the Disability Support Pension
Disability Resources Centre in partnership with Social Security Rights Victoria recently ran a training day for Disability Advocates around Disability Support Pension applications, processes and appeals. They have launched resources aimed at workers and at people with disabilities to use to assist navigating the system. See attached link to download the resources.
Man died of bowel cancer while waiting for disability support pension approval
The man, known as John to protect his privacy, was left to survive on Newstart as he battled stage 3 bowel cancer and had earlier attempted suicide after learning of a two-month wait on his pension claim, according to Katrina Newman, who took up his case in February.
Living on the disability pension: ‘It’s like the slow dimming of the light’
Almost one-in-five Australians are living with a disability. Those with a mental health condition make up the largest group on welfare
‘They thought I was an addict’: People with disabilities humiliated at Centrelink
“I am blind and there is no electronic application form. How can I be independent? This is debilitating … I don’t have a support person, family member, or a friend who can help me out with my paperwork. I can’t see to sign a form.”
‘A punch in the gut’: Carers, people with disabilities share Centrelink experiences
Carers and people with disabilities have shared their experiences working with Centrelink to receive their support payments after a Geraldton mother spoke out about having to continuously provide proof her son “still had” Down Syndrome.
Disability groups weary as DSP appeals skyrocket
Disability advocates are deeply concerned by an almost 80 per cent increase in Disability Support Pension appeals, warning that vulnerable people are being incorrectly forced onto lower benefit payments like Newstart.
Disability Support Pension— Follow-on Audit
The objective of this audit was to examine if Social Services and Human Services drive improvements in the Disability Support Pension program using data and information from multiple sources.
Government backflips on DSP suspension cut for prisoners
A campaign to reverse the federal government’s reduction to the suspension time of the Disability Support Pension for people in prison has been successful, keeping it at two years rather than 13 weeks.
Government’s plan to cut disability support pension backfires
The federal government is ditching controversial plans to review the eligibility of 90,000 people on the Disability Support Pension after only a tiny fraction of recipients were found not to qualify for the payment.
Man battling cancer and Centrelink raises social media storm
The ordeal of a father battling bowel cancer and Centrelink at the same time is setting social media ablaze, prompting a crowdfunding appeal and an outpouring of rage on Facebook.
Access to disability pension slashed by more than half, data shows
The government has dramatically cut access to the disability support pension in the past eight years, cutting the approval rate from 63% to about 30% this financial year.
The insidious consequences of disability pension cuts
rexplains the cruel cycle of poverty and devastation being inflicted on the mentally and physically ill by ongoing welfare cuts. THIS story is to explain to people who don’t live with mental illness, the security a home can bring.
New Disability Support Pension recipients down by almost 60,000, due to Gillard-led crackdown
With around 760,000 people on the payment, the DSP is one of the largest and most-expensive welfare payments, costing the Commonwealth $16.3 billion a year. But in the past decade, there has been a huge drop in the number of new recipients, down from a peak of 89,000 to less than 32,000 last financial year.