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.

Currently, people on the DSP don’t receive the payment behind bars, but can suspend it for up to two years without it being cancelled, lessening the risk of them immediately falling into homelessness, destitution and recidivism.

Peak disability advocacy body, Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO), ran a campaign against the suspension reduction and announced it had been successful.