Planet Centrelink

DavidLuxton
DavidLuxtonon Friday, October 13 2017
3 Comments

This is not just some Centrelink bashing.

 

I am truly grateful that we live in a country where welfare is eked out to us by our elite Canberra overlords to give us shelter and prevent us from starving to death.

 

I cry over my resistance to applying for DSP and I've worked my guts out to try to get back to work for almost two years. I've already been assessed as only being able to work 8 hours a week.  Now I'm getting therapy to try to come to terms with the fact that I may not be able to endure the challenge of even regularly getting to a workplace, let alone trying work  a few days a week. 

 

But here's the thing. Despite the information on the application cover page, there is no option to apply online - just great for people with limited mobility!

 

There is also no information on the steps to lodge an application.  When you call, you get information via a long voice recording which is only suitable for someone who is still highly functioning. 

 

This is not about the money, this is about trying to find a place in life where I can find some sort of fulfilment without being cajoled into a demeaning Job Plan.

 

Is it just me, or is Centrelink on another planet when it comes to helping people with a disability?

3 Responses
Nina Wilde avatar
Nina Wilde

Hi David,

I think you have hit the mark for a lot of people when you write about finding fulfilment in life that does not come down to a Job Pan  great comment ! 

I hope that you are given support as you work out what gives you purpose. It's very difficult when one has been productive , someone who contributes, independent to suddenly have so many of these things which give us identity taken away.

Keep hold of what is dear to you as you find your way through. 

 

Wishing you all the very best.

 

Sue

 

Diana avatar
Diana

Hi David,

 

StrokeLine wrote a blog about applying for DSP online - hope this helps.

 

Diana 

DavidLuxton avatar
DavidLuxton

I ended up just biting the bullet and doing a round trip to my GP and then the Centrelink Office. My GP got their in-house nurse to help with the whole application and I got some great support. 

 

At the Centrelink office, the guy told me a about the absurd length of the application process and how  people sometimes die before they're finally approved. I could only laugh and thank him for his candour!

 

 

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