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kenny66
Senior Contributor

Disability Support System-Demonised

The Government structures around disability support are so complex, fragmented and lacking focus I thought I should relay my experiences with it.

I see all of the press and goverment bleating about leaners and lifters, bludgers, malingerers etc etc etc. Truth is that the hurdles are so high to even qualify for the DSP, it is absurd to suggest anyone who is actually on it to somehow manipulated the system to qualify.

 It is alleged, based on anecdotal evidence, that years ago the DSP was used as a sort of unemployment replacement payment. However everyone forgets that that doctors perviously had to certify DSP recipients, believing the applicant to be entitled to it.

In my view, the contemptable obligations to be put into place concerning the unemployed mirror the fundemental lack of understanding that government ministers have in this area and the area of disability, particiularly mental illness, other than in  a budgetory way.

Anyway back to my story. I  qualify for the DSP because of the severity of my schizoaffective disorder. However I made a decison that I did not want the pension but to try and live off my savings until such time as I could land a job.

I have periods where I am unwell but I also have times when I am well. I have had a couple of mental health unit and clinic admissions, the longest being 3 months. After my latest admission and the very successfull treatment that I recieved I decided it was time to work again. To obtain the services of a disability employment provider,

I had to 1. Have a recognised disability and 2. obtain a job capacity assessment.  Centrelink oeganised my assessment with a medical professional who was reluctant to approve my working at all.

Her knowledge of the disorder and what flows from it was to put it very kindly, minimal.There was a letter from my psych saying I was stabilised which was the only medical evidence I had.

No proper consideration was given to my wishes and there was very no questioning except one question focusing on my hallucinations.  I put forward that I have a flat mate who makes sure I eat, take my medication, have proper hygeine and can make sure I can get to any place of employment. This was ignored.

After a great deal of begging I finally was approved for maximum 15 hrs per week. I appealed this as I wanted a full time job but I was told I couldnt appeal the assessment.

The only way I could have it reviewed was for my psych to provide evidence to centrelink that might be considered for increased hours. What a ludicrous system. I am now stuck with a service provider who is only marketing me for 8-15 hrs per week based on that assessment. Without being critical,

I have been to the service provider 3 times. I have not seen the same person twice. I get called gregory, which is not my name, and I havent had any meaningfull discussion about emplyment at all. I know the employment services work in a difficult area but they contract to do that work and get payed for it by the government.

So I am stuck in the system at the moment. I want to work full time but cant and at 8-15 hrs per week I would earn about $250 per week at the basic wage, which is about the same as the unemployment benefit and quite a bit less than the DSP. I did momentarily consider applying for the DSP this week because I just felt like giving in.

I have now got over that and will push on with my search for a job.Just goes to show that no matter which way you come at it, with mental illness you are discriminated against, even inadvertantly.  My experience was that I dont think I was taken seriously because I have Schizophrenia. I will write more on this subject.

26 REPLIES 26

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Hi Kenny

I'm sorry that you have been so messed around. It is admirable that you want to be self-sufficient but at least think of how much easier your life could be if you are eligible for a Disability Support Pension. 

As someone who is on a DSP because of my mental illness, I suggest that you proceed with an application for a DSP.  It will make life so much easier for you.  Whilst you are on a DSP you can still work up to 30 hours a week.  Depending on how much you earn, your pension may fluctuate.  You will have a pension card and be able to get medication at reduced cost, electricity and car registration at reduced cost etc.

I hope you don't, but if you become ill again, you pension will revert to the full amount.  This will give you peace of mind that you will be able to cover your rent, food, etc.

Regarding your other comments about the Government, that is another comment for another day.

Take care,

Amber Cat Happy

 

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Hi Kenny,
Good on you for advocating for more hours..Inwas just wondering if you have a choice of provider where you are? There are quite a few disability employment providers in Melbourne, but if you are living regionally I would imagine you may not have the option to take your business (you) elsewhere.
I always encourage people to try the competition as providers are being paid to provide a service to you. Dependig on where you are located, maybe there aren't many full time jobs available? Or maybe your employment service provider is not used to supporting people into full time employment? Whatever the situation is re jobs in your area, I think it is wonderful that you want to work. Maybe you might suggest would they be willing to support you in applying for two part time jobs, that may add up to full time hours? I reckon if you can get some part time work, you have your foot in the door and then more work usually opens up. Good luck!

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Hi Kenny,

 

I can appreciate that feeling of not wanting to rely on the system, of knowing you can do well on your own and more than that needing to show yourself and others that you can. For a long time I struggled, working when I could, living off basic New Start payments when I couldn't. Of course New Start is barely enough for people who don't need regular medication and medical consultaions with specialists who don't always bulk bill. I refused to give in, regarding it a weekness to fall back on that kind of help. Then I realised I had felt the same way before, about medication, about attending clinics and about using other resources available to me, and in each previous case I came to the conclusion that they were tools I could use to build myself a better foundation to work towards a better state of health. So I bit the bullet and applied for the DSP, and to be honest I wish I had done it earlier. I work when I can, little bits and pieces all of which add to my sense of self and because of the benefits of the DSP even when things get tough I am better off than if I had to rely on the pitance that is the dole.

 

As for your experience with your DES, I am sad to say that of the three I have been involved with only one was good at what they did. Sadly DEWER decided the best measure of which DES providers to keep in place after the shuffle was by seeing which ones forced their clients into a job they hated and made them stay there. The hard part of it is, that most people need the support of an employment agency regardless whether it is JSA or DES, but if you need a DES well then a JSA isn't an option becuase they do not understand the specialist needs or even where they do, they lack the resources to put the neccesary things in play.

 

No one can tell you whether to take the pension or not, and if they tried well more fool them, but I just wanted to make the point that it is a worthwhile tool that can be used in the intrum, and you seem certain of your ability to work full time, so good luck getting the work you want and maybe consider the extra income until that point in time where you can do the awesome things you are meant to do 🙂

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Thanks Amber

for all your advice

I am finding it hard to get past barrier that I have mentally about applying for the DSP.  But I might have to give in because of the dollars anyway. Thanks for your advice-much appreciated

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Hi Alessandra

 

I think that there are two employment providers in the town. From my observation the one I am dealing with seems to have a lot of staff changeover, so there is no continuity. The first consultant I saw had just moved into the area 5 months ago and told me she didnt know the job market here so I would need to wait until she got up to scratch. I am ok with this but I found it a little deflating. Everything takes so much time. On competition, my friend Geoff who uses the other agency, has never had one appointment set up by his agency in the whole 14 months he has been with them. To be fair though, jobs in regional Queensland are difficult to come by.

 

Thanks a lot

Kenny

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Hi Nyxsong

Thanks fo giving me good advice and something to think about. I have read all of the posts and I think maybe I am not quite capable of making the decision about it myself. Theres got ot be somewhere I can go to help me with this. I tried centrelink for advice on what I should do but they just tell me to go for the DSP and sent me the application form. Anyway I will find out, maybe one of the support groups up this way. I think there is one.

On what you say about Newstart, well I am not on that either .I was pretty well off the air for quite a while so I hade very little insight into my MI or anything attached to it really, including any support mechanisms from government or otherwise. Prior to moving to where I am now I was in and out of hospital Accident and Emergency Departments for years with no real contiguous treatment and very poor medication compliance. This was during my unmanaged Schizophrenia stage. It took me a long time to trust my psych up here so my initial treatment was very sporadic. It wasnt until 2011 that I got serious about treatment and went onto a successful cocktail of antipsychotics and mood stabilisers and intensive therapy. My condition was a bit up and down until I went into the mental health unit for all up 9 weeks last year. During this period I really stabilised, hence the renewed interist in work. Thanks for all your help and from others too. I am sure I will be able to work things out.

 

 

 

 

 

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Some people need DSP and the stress they are receiving from the current government and the fear of homelessness etc is the opposite of good mental health.

In your situation,I don't understand why you don't just apply for full time jobs if that's what you want.
Regardless that your job search person isn't marketing you,can't you just market yourself and apply on your own?
Have you tried looking on Seek etc for fulltime work.

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Hi Ivana

Thanks for your comments and yes I do apply for full time jobs, a lot of them, on Seek, obviously and a whole host of other employment sites. This is a requirement were I to apply for NewStart or the DSP in any event. The reason my Psych sent me through the disability employment system is that they specialise in placing people with a disability, in my case a mental illness (schizophrenia) with enlightened employers. There are a whole lot of complicated issues about gaining employment under your own steam. Just applying for jobs, getting interviews and  all the rest, which I am sure everyone faces . There is the question about whether to tell a proposed employer or not and anything that may arise from that. By the fact i probably will have clinic stays in the future I take the initiative to inform interviewers about it up front. Most have been really sympathetic about it, and I am not suggesting that anyone has declined to consider me because of it, as far as I am aware. I like to believe that anyway. I feel that I need some help with the process and hopefully the employment provider will get their act together and work in a partnership with me. So I am hoping that with the combination of my searching for work and the disability employment provider looking for work as well,  something might come along. My comments really dealt with the inflexibility of the system as I percieve it in my case and the strictures that apply to the process.  So I am not just sitting around wingeing about the employment agency but I am getting off my butt to do something about it.

On another point, just by way of observation, I am aware that the government proposes to move away from the present system of contracted employment agencies being administratively driven to a fee based system recognising job placement as the payment criteria. This may help encourage some employment advisers to become more focused on actual job placement, in a general sense, I believe .

Thanks for your taking the time to reply to my post. it is much appreciated.

Re: Disability Support System-Deamonised

Hi Kenny,
Keep plugging away and I agree with all of the other posts as well, great minds think alike! There should be no shame in accessing the DSP or Newstart, and in fact, sometimes I think if we do not access these services, then our government will happily cut them back even more.
Which would be just what our government wants, to cut back on DSP and Newstart. Perhaps think of receiving some assistance now, as an investment into your work future. I know that for many people coming off the DSP means medication becomes stupidly expensive within around. 6 months. If there is no paid work available in regional Qld, wondering if you could volunteer somewhere that is in the industry or field you would like to pursue paid work in?
Good luck!
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