Centrelink

[MotherNatureVer2]

I have spoken to centrelink and am waiting a return call from the social worker so we can get this sorted.

The girl I spoke to sounded like a reasonable person who had absolutely no idea ........ She has at least sent the forms for the bereavement payment so thats a start. Hopefully by Monday we should have them.

I can sense this is going to be a long affair and appreciate all of the help and thoughts we have received.

[MotherNatureVer2]

Just an update for those who are interested.

I spoke to the social worker yesterday and she told me that the whole thing sounded a bit wrong. She would investigate it and then call us back, which she did.

It seems that when Mum was alive she was on a disability pension (needed as she could not work). Dads wage was NOT taken into account due to the disability pension, even thought dads wage was considered for this disability pension and the lass was given a full youth allowance.

All authorities were advised of mums passing and three(3) days after her death centerlink cut the lass off as her fathers earnings were now taken into account as there wasnt a family member on a pension ..................

Now to me this seems a very odd ......... on one hand they will pay the full amount when they are also paying a full disability pension and Dad is earning a wage. Now they are not paying a disability pension, they now take the wage into account.

One would wonder what would happen if they were in this predicament ......... there is absolutely NO sympathy for their loss at all ........

[fiery]

That does sound a little crazy Lisa but then again, this is a government department and we all know how bizarre they are.

I really feel for this family, it seems disgraceful that they (and you) have had to deal with this on top of dealing with everything else.

My best wishes go to you all and in particular to this young girl.

[MotherNatureVer2]

Thanks fiery. Its not like we want anything shes not entitled to ...... only that she and her father can get through this time and be able to eat !!!!!

One consolation was that I have been able to get onto her school and sort them out .... they were easy compared to this centerlink mob ........ at least her yr12 subjects are now safe & a doable prospect for next year. There was a time where there was talk that she had lost too much time, a quick meeting at the school yesterday got that all sorted. Its good to know the teachers when you have to deal with this kind of stuff.

[Angry Beaver]

I have to agree with fiery, its to suss. I thought that if somebody was on a disability pension that the partners wage was taken into account as it would seem she had income support. How can they now say that because the mothers pension has stopped due to her death that the fathers wage is enough, when there is now only one form of income. It sounds like you may have to contest the actual decision but be careful with this also that the girl doesnt end up having to pay back what she has already received previously.

[ford_gal_86]

Its horrible to think that people out there are abusing the system and getting payments they probably arent entitled to yet when a gals mum dies, her payments get cut off!? Hopefully they find its all been a mistake and she gets the payments back. Must be hard on her and her dad atm. Poor things.

[LilMissDrift]

I know what ur saying sweetie, im an 18yr old and i "quit" work in nov last yr to start again in jan this yr, they didnt help me so i left it .. may i had a heart attack and wasnt recieving little help for 3 months while i was "disabled" now they send me a bill for $400 saying i owe them money and it was a false claim im like whatever! ill pay it to shut em up, but i dont think its right.. as they dont realise a lto of people arent looking for a hand out.. just a hand up!

[ford_gal_86]

Wow a heart attack and your only 18? Scary stuff! That makes it hard to live and eat if you dont get any pay out. Especially if your not living at home and have bills to pay etc.

[gunbound]

One of the many reasons why i don't deal with centrelink. They make u feel so guilty for taking to allowances

[XTAXI]

i have a different view on the welfare situation. it is terrible for children to lose there mother or father and in this time of hardship sure a helping hand should be extended to those who need it. but it is ongoing hand outs that i disagree with, becuase it only serves the purpose of making people reliant on free money. in real hard times and trauma there is no doubt that benefits and hand outs are needed, but just not every other time. many people who become reliant on welfare will not even try to get off it, as it is easer to do nothing and get free money.

this is just my 2 cents and is not meant to offend any one

[XRNIL8]

Originally Posted by XTAXI

i have a different view on the welfare situation. it is terrible for children to lose there mother or father and in this time of hardship sure a helping hand should be extended to those who need it. but it is ongoing hand outs that i disagree with, becuase it only serves the purpose of making people reliant on free money. in real hard times and trauma there is no doubt that benefits and hand outs are needed, but just not every other time. many people who become reliant on welfare will not even try to get off it, as it is easer to do nothing and get free money.

this is just my 2 cents and is not meant to offend any one

Whilst I do agree with your generalised view ...... this thread is not about someone trying to rort the system or do the wrong thing. This I believe is a genuine case that should be supported and not denegrated because someone has made mistakes in Centrelink. The people that work in there generally do a good job, just think of all the losers they really do have to deal with ... they do make mistakes and hopefully they will recognise this as an error on their part and rectify it.

[Bluefreak]

I have a friend on disability pension, her husband works and acts as a carer, her pension is based on his income...

Something is really not right here, go as high as you can with this and as already menyioned, take names, times, dates and any other relevant information down...

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

Centrelink is a joke. Pretty sad when druggos and bludgers can rock up for handouts and someone who has paid taxes for years and years can't get a little help on the rare occasion when they ask for it.

Hope all is sorted out. A really awfull thing to be going through I'd imagine.

I couldn't get Centrelink, because my parents' income was too high. I had to wait until I turned 21 to get it. I would rather a legit job, but atleast I still gt some money.

What a sad, sad situation. I hope everything works out.

[broken_suave]

This is an horrible situation to say the very least.
I lost my dad when I was 15, and I can say that it shattered me. My whole world stopped.
But then to have this happen, for the young girl in question, I can only give my deepest sympathies, and infact anger. I am angry for the whole family. Aside from the tradgic loss of a mother/wife/sister, etc.. now the family must deal with a completely uncarring government body.
If there was any possible way for me to help, I would. However all I can do, is offer the heartfelt sympathies from myself, my partner and my family members. And I hope against hope that the situation works out for the family.

Another thing about Centrelink, and infact most Government bodies, is that, if you make a mistake, you have to back-pay everything. However if they make a mistake, well, they'll only back-pay you if they feel like it. They make the mistake, you make up for it.

[carnutt]

Originally Posted by broken_suave

This is an horrible situation to say the very least.
I lost my dad when I was 15, and I can say that it shattered me. My whole world stopped.
But then to have this happen, for the young girl in question, I can only give my deepest sympathies, and infact anger. I am angry for the whole family. Aside from the tradgic loss of a mother/wife/sister, etc.. now the family must deal with a completely uncarring government body.

Yes mate , I agree with you . This poor young girl is one who Deserves all the help she can get from them . She is asking for "help" not "handouts".

You would know the situation , more than most .

I got sick as 12 y/old & wasn't supposed to see my 18 birthday .... but I managed to work for 25 years and stay off a Pension .
But when the time came & I couldn't work anymore (Drs Advice) I was treated as a "second rate " dole bludger , even though I saved them 25 years payments .

All the best success MotherNature , we're ALL behind you

carnutt

[atec77]

Originally Posted by MotherNature

Have spoken to the little one this morning. She spoke to centrelink late yesterday. The conversation went something along the lines of -

CL - this is the amount you are being paid as that is the way it is.

Child - The only thing that has changed is that my mum has died, she has always told you what dad earned.

CL- yes true

Child - So there is nothing you can do to help us at all

CL- No

Child - then can you please send me some living away from home forms as I will have to move out because Dad cant afford to feed me.

CL - is he abusing you? (like WTF!!!!)

Child - No he just cant afford to keep me if you take my payments away.

CL - I think theres abuse going on I will send out a social worker & DOCS to sort him out ...........


The world has gone absolutely crazy ............. I am going over there tomorrow to sort this out............... Why are there so many idiots working in government jobs ??????

Not only has she lost her mum, they are forcing her to move away from her grieving father as well ........... This is a time they need each other .......

Make sure the conversation is written verbatim in her diary (get her one) and from now on do exactly that as it become a legal document in court , have her keep it until well past the sorting out just in case.

[Bucknaked]

My mum who has legal custody of her 3 granddaughters, can't get anything at all for caring for the girls. We tried. They have had to sell there house and move North to try to get back on their feet as my dad was struggling to get work. CL seem not to care. But on the other hand, when my father in law died recently, they were very helpful in getting berevement payments to my mother inlaw try to get her back on her feet. I guess it depends on who you get, but I would be fighting tooth and nail to get everything that this young girl and her father should be entitled to. If they can give tax breaks to the rich, why can't they look after the people who really need it the most.

[AWD Chaser]

Very VERY upseting to hear. Regardless of her fathers wage, if they can't afford to feed the family, surely they can step in and help...


Bloody "Central-Debt". I had to deal with them and they are a pain.

I hope for the families sake that everything will work out for them.

[revcore]

Centrelink have done me wrong in the past......
Back in early 2005 just after my dad passed away due to cancer, I became homeless (I was on the carers pension looking after him). I couldn't afford to keep renting the place dad and I were living in so I put my belongings in storage and began life on the streets. As soon as I notified Centrelink of my dads passing, They cut me off the carers payment (Which is right as I was no longer caring for my dad) but I applied to go onto newstart but Centrelink rejected me because I was homeless and didn't have a fixed address. How the hell was I supposed to find a place to live if I didn't have any money???? I gave them my brothers address and asked them to send my fortnightly form there but they rejected that too claiming they were unable to do that because it wasn't my residence.....It was my brothers place for crying out loud!!!
Anyway, After a fair while living on the streets I finally found a place to live and was then granted newstart payments. I hate Centrelink with a passion thats all I can say.

[MotherNatureVer2]

Just thought I would let you know the matter has now been taken to the ombudsman. Their office also thought the whole matter a bit bizzare and we are getting all the info to them.

The berevement payment forms have been sent too. (Thanks very much to the person who let me know of that payment in this thread.) This was something the the father wasnt told of when he rang to inform them of the death ........

We were over at their town yesterday for cricket. Was a great day, even with the sadness of not having mum there with us like usual.(even though we are living in opposing towns it is always like a huge family reunion when we play against each other) We were even able to get dad to play again. He had pulled out due to the illness. The draw of playing against my youngest (his nephew) was too great for him not to especially as it was the boys first game with the big boys. As it worked out both of them were the not out players for their respective teams and we even got a huge grin on dads face when he didnt bowl my boy out. Was a great day that we will all remember for a long time.

Thanks again for all of your support. It is really appreciated.