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I’m not a dole bludger, I just want to work

Angry Cripple

by Angry Cripple

13 Apr 05:45am

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Filed under: Angry Cripple, Disability, Employment, Welfare Reform

66 comments

Carl Thompson is a 21-year-old with cerebral palsy and scoliosis who is undertaking honours in marketing. He writes for ABC’s Ramp Up, DiVine Victoria and blogs here.

We in Australia always follow the English. This makes sense, I suppose, from a historical viewpoint as many of us are descendants of convicts from the mother country.

Brayside Fruit and Veg is just one place giving work opportunities to people with disabilities. Photo: Damien Horan.

We share many cultural similarities; most TV broadcast in Australia on the ABC is British. We both sensibly drive on the left hand side of the road, and the beautiful game of cricket is the national sport in both countries.

We have a penchant for chips (not fries), kebabs and curries, as do the English. And finally, our political systems and structures are also quite similar - we even share the same Queen.

Australians, however, have been diverging lately from our English counterparts and forging our own path. There has been an influx of American TV recently on our channels which I can’t say I’m too happy about.

But the other more pertinent point of divergence between Australia and England has been the macro and micro economic outcomes of the Global Financial Crisis.

To put it bluntly, we survived it better than the English as we did not enter into a recession. We have had minimal Australian company bankruptcies and our employment figures have not fallen too heavily as a result.

Even so, when I heard about the recently proposed government cuts in England over the last few months regarding their disability pensions and other disability related supports - I was outraged.

In fact I was outraged to the point where it prompted me to write about it. But all the while in the back of my mind I felt safe about the security of my disability pension and the Centrelink working credits afforded to me as an Australian.

I was under the impression that we in Australia were no longer following the English blindly; we never encountered a recession as they did, and as such we do not need to make government cuts to the budget and social welfare as a result of our comparatively strong economic position.

But it looks like I’m wrong.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott wants to show some “tough love“ in order to move people off the disability support pension and into work.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has also chimed in with an eerily similar policy, intending to “crack down” on those with a mental illness - they make a perfect target don’t you think? After all, it’s all in their head, right?

When the two major parties recently suggested they were offering bipartisan support regarding disability reform, this wasn’t the type of reform I was expecting, or wanting.

Cracking down on people who are supposedly rorting the system is a seemingly noble cause, and in theory I agree as I truly believe that people with a disability or mental illness should work if they are able.

The problem is in the methodology. You cannot effectively encourage people to work if they have a severe disability or illness without providing the necessary and varied support needed. It’s simply unworkable.

Stella Young recently wrote a very personal account of her trials and tribulations of her quest to find a suitable and accommodating employer in response to Tony Abbott’s (and now Julia Gillard’s) announcement.

While I can’t speak on Stella’s behalf, I’m sure she was not on the disability support pension for fun and with a view to be a dole bludger, but rather the jobs she was applying for and suitably skilled enough for were either inaccessible in terms of physical access and amenities, or were inaccessible due to the social attitudes of the workplace.

During the job hunt, the disability support pension would have kept Stella (barely) afloat. Would cutting the disability pension or increasing the already extremely stringent eligibility criteria rectify inequities and barriers? No.

Discounting the fact that I have to continually prove that I am disabled although my disability is obvious and permanent, pensions and other government benefits are free money for me.

Taxpayers’ money in fact. But can you imagine what would happen to the hundreds of thousands of disability support pension recipients if this money wasn’t distributed to those in need?

The majority of us would probably be sent off to flounder in already strained aged care facilities or even hospitals, regardless of our age, and the cost to the taxpayer (meaning you) would be much greater than that spent on pensions.

Disability support pensions are enablers; they enable those with a disability such as myself to be able to live, to be able to study, and yes, to be able to work.

It costs quite a bit of money to renovate an entire house to make it wheelchair accessible. $25,000 to modify a car just so it can carry my wheelchair isn’t spare change. And it’s not a choice either, I need a house and car that can accommodate me – otherwise I simply can’t live. This isn’t discretionary spending.

But with this said, a disability pension is not a long-term substitute for work and those who regard it as such are misinformed. When I have a full-time job (I’m being positive here) and am earning good money, I will be proud to relinquish my pensioner perks.

I will be proud to be able to say that I earn my own living due to the benefits I bring to my employer and society.

But without a disability support pension I wouldn’t be in a position to study in the first place and I definitely wouldn’t be in a position to be able to look for meaningful and suitable work.

I am not a dole bludger, Mr Abbott, I’m using my government money wisely. I’m investing in my future through tertiary postgraduate education and am also pumping money back into the Australian economy and contributing to the multiplier effect conservatives dearly love.

And Ms Gillard, instead of attempting to scare the general public into thinking that we are benefit cheats and telling those on the disability pension that we need some tough love to force us off our backsides (not possible for some) and work, how about you propose some policy that will actually make finding and maintaining employment a reality for most disability support pension recipients, and not solely a privilege for some?

Most commented

431Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself
390There's no one Thomson won't burn to save his skin
336Animal experiments won't cure me from cancer
313Thomson didn't answer the question everyone is asking
266Who murdered the Arts degree?
246A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing...
231South Australia. It's the middle bottom bit.
231Craig Thomson speaks. Meanwhile, in Australia...

66 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • S.L says:

      04:55am | 13/04/11

      I recieved a partial disability through a motorcycle accident in 1983. I had only been working there for 6 months but my boss told my parents when I’m out of hospital and able to come back to work he’ll put me in the spare parts dept instead of assembling machinery which I was originally employed to do. I stayed for 5 years and left on good terms to start my own business. 23 years later I’m still in business. I will never forget my old boss for what he did for me…........

      Reply

    • fran says:

      07:35am | 13/04/11

      not all people on disability have the disabilities you mention in this article. what is missing here is that many many thousands are on disability due to their drug habits. the disability pension allows them to roam the streets doing what they do best. I don’t think they are being handled correctly by just sticking them on a disability pension

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      07:53am | 13/04/11

      Fran I believe drug taking should be recognised as a mental health issue.  We have psychiatrists, and counsellors to handle that?

    • fran says:

      10:43am | 13/04/11

      You do not have to have a diagnosed mental issue to obtain the disability pension if you take drugs. there is a subtle difference which is currently being rorted. I have a son with a genuine disability and am often surprised by what qualifies.

    • Simonious says:

      11:58am | 13/04/11

      Acotrel having a brother whom is now 51 years old and still on a methodone program so he can get the disability pension rather than the dole i know exactly the type of peron that Fran is talking about. He has no intention of ever going back to work and he hasnt worked since he was 21. His words were ” if i stay on the done i get me sickness benefits and only have to front up to centrelink once every 3 months with a note from my doctor that says i am still on the program. If i go off the program then i will have to go on the dole and start looking for a job plus i have to front up to centerlink every 2 weeks then and explain what I have been doing”. He has been on a methodone program for 30 years and quite simply thinks the world should pay for his existence. It is the attitude of ” they have a mental issue ” that see junkies adopt this culture.  Please lets stop support that culture.

    • Vince says:

      04:49pm | 13/04/11

      The theory seems to go like this: most of the people on disability and the “dole” are legitimate.  A small percentage are not.  If we make it more difficult for all of the recipients, legitimate or not, to recieve their money, we may, possibly, flush out the undeserving.  Or, we may not.  Instead, we may just make it harder on the legitimate ones whilst vilifying them in public and do bugger all about the problem of “dole bludging”. 

      Of course, this all ignores the obvious that if Dole Bludging is indeed such an attractive lifestyle then we’d all be doing it.  But we’re not, so it must not be so crash hot to begin with.

      And, really, is it SUCH a big problem right now, here, in Australia or are the politicians just maybe - maybe - going after an easy target so they look tough.  Nah… couldn’t be that.

    • deb says:

      07:36am | 13/04/11

      I am afraid of what he future will bring for someone like me,i like to pretend that i am perfectly fine and can do anything.Then i hit a brick wall and reality sets in (well it does when i can remember who the hell i am again)
      After the seizures have run there course and life settles down again i go back to deluding myself that i really dont have to take all these bloody pills do I?
      So Mr Abbott call me what you will, i need my disability pension.Working part time is all i can manage,my wonderful Doctor has restricted me from working too many hours as he has seen me start fitting from the stress.
      I have no support at my work place,just the opposite. Workmates? who enjoy making life hell and love it when i cant cope.
      Hang on i am not trying to start a whinge binge, just letting people know that there are a more than two sides to this disability issue.
      Yes i have tried to get other employment,very hard in this small area.

      Reply

    • Everyone is different says:

      07:42am | 13/04/11

      I would like to know how persons who suffer “variable” disabilities can find employers whose business routines can adapt to their particular disability. Consider for example, someone who is diagnosed with severe chronic fatigue.  Such an individual can be seemingly well one day only to be unpredictably rendered extremely fatigued beyond completing the simplest of self-management tasks the following morning.
      Circumstances dictate that in fairness to all parties, there are some insidious disabilities that may never fit employer time-frames and structured workforce regimes, so even volunteer work can, to large measure, be a problem for both parties.  I
      Politicians should think more carefully before throwing out blanket edicts to those in our community who are already struggling with major health challenges.  In many cases their circumstances are exacerbated by politically motivated pressures. We already know that people who battle with disabilities have enough to contend with, and certainly do not need politicians with a few targeted cutting words adding unnecessary grief to their personal and oftentimes highly complex life circumstances.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      07:43am | 13/04/11

      Both sides of politics play the same game with the welfare recipients.  Gillard plays ‘me too’ in response to Abbott’s cynical repeat of Howard’s mean spiritedl targetting of disability pensioners!  It’d be interesting to know the stats on how many disability pensioners were originally on Workcover payments, as a result of workplace injuries?  Our poolitical parties all embrace the ‘free market economy’.  It’s the great harbinger of wealth in the future.  In the mean time with no tariff protection, and insufficient subsidies, we see businesses, along with jobs, moving offshore.  It seems a bit rich to target welfare recipients when the governments of both persuasions have exacerbated their situation!

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      08:37am | 13/04/11

      The disabled are easy targets?

      Reply

    • George says:

      08:40am | 13/04/11

      If your ‘disability” is genuine then you need not worry about a thing.  The current welfare system is not punitive which is why it’s open to abuse and has been abused.

      Now if you are one of those that are “rorting” the system then beware, its only a matter of time now.

      Reply

    • Carl Thompson says:

      11:24am | 13/04/11

      It’s not as simple as that George.

      And to say the current welfare system is not punitive is wrong, every hour you work up to 30 cuts your pension by $.50 in the dollar. And once you reach 30 hours It disappears completely!

      If that’s not punitive then I don’t know what is.

    • TJ says:

      01:50pm | 13/04/11

      but Carl surely if you are working 30+ hours a week then you shouldn’t have the pension, it’s for people who can’t work full time

    • Angry Cripple says:

      02:17pm | 13/04/11

      TJ, something that is often not factored into these discussions is the cost of disability. I know people who don’t work because the cost of a wheelchair accessible taxi to and from work is more than they would earn, even with a mobility allowance.
      And I also think that while 30 hours a week pay on a good pay rate might be enough to support someone, if your income was only $15/hour, it would be difficult to live on, expecially if you then lost your health care card and needed to pay full tote odds on multiple medications, plus needed therapies that enable you to work.
      I wish it were simple, but it’s not. In my perfect world, a person with a lifelong disability would have their disability related needs subsidised, and only be in receipt of DSP if, despite those needs being supported (attendent care at work for example) you still were unable to work.
      I may flesh out these scenarios in a future column as I think there is alot of misinformation, and lack of information among the general population.

    • TJ says:

      05:34pm | 13/04/11

      Hi AC - more power to you if you want to work, it’s great. forgive my ignorance in this matter, my brother in law is on a pension as he is waiting for a kidney transplant and he and my sister can’t earn over a certain amount or they will lose his benefits for dialysis and his meds, which cost a freaking fortune, having said that I do not know the intricate details and therefore apologise if my comment sounded insensitive or offended in anyway.

    • Angry Cripple Ed says:

      06:44pm | 13/04/11

      No offence taken whatsoever TJ. Ask questions - there’s a wealth of knowledge and experience here.

    • Sam Connor says:

      09:10am | 13/04/11

      Kind of encouraged that a small band of public service policy advisors are currently looking closely at some meaningful policies to increase the participation of people with disability in the public sector (currently has dropped to a woeful 3 percent).

      They’re the kind of policy changes we need to see.  A quick wade through the National Disability Strategy reveals that this is one of the policy directions - ‘Increase access to employment opportunities as a key to improving economic security and personal wellbeing for people with disability, their families and carers.’ - with some of the areas for action - Improve employer awareness of the benefits of employing people with disability, reduce barriers and disincentives for the employment of people with disability,  encourage innovative approaches to employment of people with disability such as social enterprises, or initiatives to assist people with disability establish their own small business, improve employment, recruitment and retention of people with disability in all levels of public sector employment, and in funded organisations.

      What does all that mean when it’s translated down ‘to the ground’?  We hope it doesn’t mean a great idea, like the Employer Assistance Fund for workplace modifications, which costs the employer time and money (and a hugely complex DEEWR process) to find out if yes, we will be reimbursed for making our workplace accessible.  There’s no incentive for reading the thirty page document, let alone investing in accommodating a person with disability in an inaccessible workplace.

      What about the introduction of quotas in the public sector workplace, mirroring the COAG targets?  What about funding for workplace modifications BEFORE employment of an employee with a disability? What about introduction of the Disability Action and Inclusion Plan framework (as per WA experience) across all public authorities in Australia?  How about introducing real changes to workplace culture and environments and creating creative and flexible solutions to inclusion of people with disability, including valuing of their skills and abilities?

      And in the meantime, how about supporting people with disability who really, really do want to work so that they can continue the fight to get a foot in the door?

      Great article, Carl.

      Reply

    • Carl Thompson says:

      11:21am | 13/04/11

      Thanks Sam!

      I agree that the Australian public service should set a leading example this area.

    • sue o'reilly says:

      12:56pm | 13/04/11

      Yes, great article, thankyou Carl.
      As some readers may have noted, I established/help run a small “charity” (horrible word) to help people with physical disabilities, called Fighting Chance. Our three areas of interest are raising money to help pwd access essential therapy services they otherwise can’t afford; innovative employment ideas; and innovative accommodation options.
      Re employment/post-school options, there are currently only four possibilities for pwd in Aus: open, mainstream employment (offered in practise only to tiny % of most mildly disabled); the old “sheltered workshops”, now called Disability Enterprises (DEs); self-employment; or non-work based “community access” programs. The Feds are responsible for funding/facilitating the first two, State govts the last two.
      The more severely physically disabled school-leavers (like my son a couple of years ago) get a couple of weeks’ “work experience” in a DE while in their last year of school. This is just a pretend exercise, because in reality there’s no place for people with severe physical disabilities in DEs. Currently, the Feds subsidise just under 20,000 DE spots, all over Aus, for some 500,000 people with little if any prospect of open employment. In addition, most DEs offer what is now a fairly old-fashioned, early 20th-century model of basic production line, manual factory type work. This model suits many people with ID and/or fairly moderate phys. disabilities. If however, like many people with CP for instance,you are fairly/very intellectually bright but don’t have manual dexterity (use of arms/hands), there is no prospect of employment in a DE, and even if there were, you’d go mad within a few years at the repetitive, relatively simple production line nature of the work. So for tens of thousands of bright, phys. disabled people, the only option in the end is a “community access” program, where you do art, cooking, watch movies, hang out at the local mall etc etc. This too is likely to get fairly boring after, say, 5 to30+ years.
      Fighting Chance (FC) has realised there is scope (and potentially huge demand) for a new, 21st-c model of “sheltered workshop”, so to speak, which involves computer-based work which engages bright, computer-literate pwd mentally and creatively, and where manual skills are not essential (because you can always get an aide/carer/assistant to key in/type etc if, like my son, you can’t do that yourself.) But the pwd is creatively and intellectually the one calling the shots in designing/running websites, doing DeskTop publishing etc etc.
      FC’s dream/determination is to create an extensive network of smallish, local offices where a number of pwds, aides and non-pwds can do paid work each day on computer-based work projects in an ordinary office environment but with all the necesssary ramps/adapted toilet facilites/personal care support etc etc.
      Problem is, this “dream” crosses several existing govt silos. It’s partly a mainstream environment, partly a “sheltered” environment, and most future managers/employees will be currently funded for community access programs, or else be getting the feds’ “transition to work” funding (or possibly now just sitting at home going mad with boredom). Hence - total, absolute bureaucratic f***ing nightmare.
      We have met with senior fed govt officials who scratch their heads and say - does this fall under DEEWR? (fed), FACSHIA? (fed) or Disability depts? (State). We say “Don’t know, you tell us”. Still waiting for answer…
      Meanwhile, we’re not waiting… FC has leased a fantastic office space for its first pilot project, in Sydney, and is about to recruit 8-10 pwd, non-pwd and support staff. Via chairty fundraising, FC will financially support this pilot until/unless what we have called “The Kairos Project” becomes financially self-sustaining. Then we hope to roll out similar models elsewhere in Sydney, then NSW, then Aus, then the world.
      More info is available at the FC website (although we’re in process of improving/upgrading this site - it’s a bit crap at moment).
      And Carl - we could really use people with your skills if you want to help set a similar computer work-based pilot project in Melbourne!
      (And sorry for this long posting; would prefer to have written this as a future AC column so more people get to read/know about our Kairos idea which we think is very modern and innovative and potentially of great interest to many pwd currently unable to get a job (and their families), but would hate to further distress the Todd Winthers of this world :(

    • mary says:

      02:42pm | 13/04/11

      Nice article Carl. Great initiative Sue.

      When I lived overseas some 30 years ago, employers were by law required to recruit so many less abled per so many able bodied. (hate those terms because I don\t know any one who is 100% able with everything they do).

      I remember one particular company which employed a blind receptionist, a limping internal postal worker, a wheelchair bound doorman and so on. Quite normal situation really which we don’t encounter much in Australia.

      Is there a similar (legally required) ratio in Australia? Would that be helpful as a measure of at least opening doors for when people are keen to work and able to fill those positions?

    • sue o'reilly says:

      03:34pm | 13/04/11

      Mary - I am currently helping a very well known Australian business leader who has a disability to write his memoirs, and the lack of employment opportunities for pwd is one of the things that drives him most insane, and which he campaigns most passionately to change. He tells me there is no legal requirements whatosover on Australian business to employ any pwd, and that there most definitely should be. Govts talk vaguely about voluntary targets, but not sure they are doing all that much to meet them. Anyway, this will be big topic in the book, and in follow-up media interviews with the author (around middle of this year I hope!_ Cheers

    • Carl Thompson says:

      04:40pm | 13/04/11

      Thanks for your kind words Sue!

      It seems like a good initiative you are trying to set up, my only problem is my opinion that people who are bright and who are qualified for work should be able to work in ‘normal’ organisations. Of course they would need help with regards to care and reasonable adjustment, but I still think money would be better directed to making the above possible as opposed to setting up new workplaces solely for the disabled.

      Still, I think it’s a step in the right direction, and hopefully it will have positive flow on effects.

      Regardless, I would still love to hear more about your scheme!

      You can contact me through my blog linked at the top of this article if you like.

    • sue o'reilly says:

      05:12pm | 13/04/11

      Yes, of course pwd who are bright and qualified “should” be able to work in ordinary mainstream jobs - but there’s a chasm between
      “should” and “can”, and while we wait for it to be bridged, and seek to bridge it, there are tens of thousands of pwd who are bright, and in many cases highly qualified, spending their days in community access programs, or just sitting around at home.
      Our project is not designed to funnel pwd away from ordinary mainstream jobs they might otherwise have got; it’s designed to give pwd an interesting, creative, paying job they who would never otherwise get the opportunity to enjoy. Hopefully, it’s also going to provide the upskilling and on-the-job experience that will lead to pwd from a Kairos office moving on to a mainstream job.
      Also, we’re going to be forging close links with computer companies and mainstream employers who are supporting our fund-raising efforts, and hopefully gthis might lead to expanded mainstream job opportunities in the future too.
      Hope this clarifies your concerns. Cheers.

    • Double standards says:

      09:41am | 13/04/11

      As someone who was denied employment by the Australian Public Service despite having reached the required levels in both the required psychological testing and my academic qualifications I can only wonder at what the APS is advising the government and the opposition. They made it quite plain, indeed a senior officer actually verbally informed me, “we have too many disabled people here already”. 
      I did not learn from this. I applied for a position for which I was exceptionally well qualified, indeed had it not been for my work the position would never have become available. I did not even get an interview for the position.  I was later quietly informed that it was because of my disability.  Naturally this was done verbally and denied in the written correspondence where the failure to interview was excused as an administrative error it was too late to correct.
      If those responsible for making policy are not prepared to abide by it then they can scarcely expect others to take on those they are not themselves prepared to employ.

      Reply

    • fran says:

      10:40am | 13/04/11

      I suggest you contact HEROC about your complaint: Human Rights and Equal Opportunities.

    • GB says:

      11:29am | 13/04/11

      I’m sorry Double standard, but you of all people should know that prospective employers are prohibited from excluding you for a position you’re qualified for and physically capable of performing based on a disability, especially the Public Service. Have you reported this to the Equal Rights Commission? If you haven’t, aside from questioning your bona fides, I’d question your commonsense. Again I’m sorry if this sounds harsh but there are a few too many holes in your story. Just sayin’

    • Missy says:

      11:48am | 13/04/11

      @ fran and GB,

      In my country, there is no such thing as welfare.
      Even if you are disabled - you are expected to live off whatever any kind soul will offer you.

      You must work three times as hard (two times if you are a woman since its Asia) because you are seen as a ‘burden’ by the business that is going to employ you.
      There are many business which would employ a disabled person however these are highly sought after and aside from that there are a segment of the disabled population from poor to lower middle class families who cannot afford to maintain a disabled person as the country does not have adequate infrastructure and support

      Hence I respect Australia very much for offering welfare to the less fortunate - the disabled, the poor, etc.

      The problem with Australia is that while in my country the discrimination is quite open - they will not employ you because you are disabled and they will let you know of that (not in a rude way, just rather direct but politely.), in Australia discrimination is very hidden but rife.

      Double Standards is fully qualified for the job and certainly the fact that he has a disability is something he handles and deals with on his own.

      The fact is that it isn’t as simple as reporting to the Human rights commission or whatever - they have informed him verbally about this , what proof can he give when they point out “Oh we have a multi cultural staff, we don’t discriminate and we even have a few disabled staff he just doesn’t meet the requirement.”. Then they spin off any old excuse (the office is on the top floor with no lifts, blah blah.)

      It isn’t written on paper and more than likely it will be thrown out.
      Further more if he enters the workplace then on such bad starting ground it guarantees that he will not have a smooth and pleasant working life with his superiors because he has got on the ‘wrong foot’ by complaining.

      This doesn’t only happen to the disabled it happens to you if you’re not white/Anglo-Saxon and have a strong Aussie twang. I have plenty of friends from various races who report this kind discrimination as well.

      Once they change their names to an english name on the same resume they get called up to an interview but never hired when the interviewer gives a look of surprise upon seeing a non-white, non-“Aussie” candidate.

      Australia is very harsh on those who are ‘different’.
      Special treatment? No, never. A fair go? Yes, please.

    • Double Standards says:

      12:28pm | 13/04/11

      Yes, thought I might get that sort of reply from a couple of people. Please learn to read. I was told this verbally - without witnesses. It was all quite deliberate. I did in fact take the matter to the HEROC and they said nothing could be done because it was verbal. They actually agreed it was a problem but they had no solution.  I was given top level legal advice and they reached the same conclusion. 
      I have to say that all this happened a good many years and took more than six years to reach the conclusion that nothing could be done. It cost me several hundred hours of time and a lot of paper work.
      I have moved on since then, got another degree and do something that is of genuine use to society.
      I wanted however to point out that, if you want to get around the legislation, you can. It is easy to “lose” paperwork and deny that anything was said.  Stories told to me since then (some by the EO officer who tried to help) suggest that this is more common than people realise. Going to HEROC is no guarantee of a result.

    • braunman says:

      10:01am | 13/04/11

      Could someone tell me if you can get the diability pension while working full time? As mentioned in the article, the costs involved with certain disabilities (such as house/car modifications to cater for those with mobility problems) are not cheap. Accepting that second income stream to pay for such expenses would definately be morally justifiable.

      Reply

    • Carl Thompson says:

      11:16am | 13/04/11

      Currently, if you work 30 hours or more you are not eligible for the disability pension. Which as you say, is a complete shame!

    • Angry Cripple says:

      12:44pm | 13/04/11

      Carl doesn’t quite have the full story. Recent changes mean that if you apply for the DSP, unless you have a severe and profound disability (functioning at the level of an infant/toddler), you need to go out and “try” to get a job on Newstart.
      After some time (not sure of details) you will be assessed in a “Job Capacity Assessment”.
      If you are assessed as being able to work more than *15* hours per week, you will be ineligible for DSP.
      So, those folk who could only work part-time, say 20 hours per week, and spend teh other 20 wours per week on, let’s say, dialysis, that personw ill have to survive on whatever pay they get for 20 hours works per week.
      This may not be 100% accurate - those who are in the know - please correct me if neccessary, but that is my understanding.

    • kelly says:

      02:36pm | 13/04/11

      Yes, Carl is wrong. He is talking about the pre-2006 rules for DSP. And even Angry Cripple is slightly wrong. If you are considered able to work 15 or more hours pw then you are not eligible for DSP, ie. if you work 15 hrs pw you cannot get it. Also, if you have an illness/injury that may improve in the next two years, you are not eligible for DSP and get put on Newstart. The DSP is only for people who:

      - cannot work 15 or more hours per week
      - have an illness/injury that will not improve within the next two years.

      For everyone else who has a disability/illness/injury, etc, it’s Newstart.

    • kelly says:

      03:24pm | 13/04/11

      Just want to add that even if your doctor *is not sure* whether or not your condition will improve in the next two years, your application for DSP will be declined.

      Also, if you get put on Newstart incapacitated because you’re not eligible for DSP, the income penalties are much harsher. As a single person, once you reach $442.42 per week of income, you’re not entitled to Newstart either. This is equal to about 29 hours of work pw if you’re earning the minimum wage, or 17 hours of work if you’re on the modest income of $25 ph.

      So whichever way, you’re screwed.

      I really don’t know why anyone thinks DSP is easy to get. Perhaps it used to be, but not any more. There are many seriously unwell people on Newstart because their applications were declined. I know this from personal experience.

    • Carl Thompson says:

      06:17pm | 13/04/11

      I apologise for getting this wrong!

      What I was talking about are the conditions for those who are currently on the pension like me, not those who want to apply.

      If I were to work over 30 hours for a certain period of time my pension would be cut off completely. Again, I can’t be sure this information is correct, but I think it is!

    • braunman says:

      09:41am | 14/04/11

      Some good food for thought there! Given what you say there doesn’t really seem to be any real incentive to work. I know disability isn’t much (I personally know a single mum on it who gets about 500 a fortnight), but the whole idea is to help those that need it the most. Limiting their working hours is like penalising them for wanting to better themselves!

      Maybe there’s something I’m missing here, because surely there has to be some consideration taken for the working disabled. What other options are there for subsidising disability related expenses? Can they be claimed under medicare? As a tax writeoff?

    • kelly says:

      07:01pm | 14/04/11

      Just clarifying: the 15 hrs pw rules I talked about are for everyone who has been on DSP since July 2006. Cheers.

    • Chris.W. says:

      10:05am | 13/04/11

      Well said Carl.
      Whilst there has been a huge increase statistics-wise in recipients of the DSP it seems that mostly it is because there is no defined benefit between that support and Newstart but consequently those of us who genuinely need it are destined to be part of the ‘bash’ in the public eye, encouraged by the insensitive warble of our pollies.
      I could probably work from home so I am applying post haste to be an ‘advisor’ to either of the two head warblers as their current ones don’t seem to cut the mustard. Could be a nice little earner!

      Reply

    • loxy says:

      10:36am | 13/04/11

      Good article and you make some excellent points, however what I find most frustrating about arguments from those with an actual disability is you never suggest a better approach. Simply saying don’t cut the pension is not a solution or the answer. Obviously there are genuine people out there like yourself who truly need the disability pension and I doubt any decent Australian wants to see them suffer by cutting it off. However, the reality is there are also non-genuine people out there who milk the system and what we need to figure out is a plan to make sure that it is ONLY genuine people who receive the disability pension, in fact any welfare at all.

      So how about you stop trying to sell us on the idea that you really need the pension - we know - and start coming up with viable options for how we can improve the system!

      Reply

    • Carl Thompson says:

      11:30am | 13/04/11

      Some solutions?

      Accessible buildings or one. Free attendant care at work, flexible working hours, workplace modifications and the reduction in disincentives for working in the first place.

      That’s a start is it not?

      And the old, tired argument about the few people rorting the system, their numbers are almost negligible, and definitely not statistically significant.

      Focus on the majority of good and honest people, and help them be the best they can.

    • Anne71 says:

      12:48pm | 13/04/11

      Agreed, Carl. I do not want to see people such as yourself made to suffer so that some politician can beat their chests in front of the cameras and crow about saving government money from rorters.
      If the politicians are so keen to find some savings, I suggest that they tackle the ridiculous level of middle-class welfare in this country instead.

    • George says:

      10:46am | 13/04/11

      @Double standards

      Those are serious accusations you’ve made about the Australian Public Service.

      I doubt it very much if those conversations of yours with senior public servants ever did occur because if they did and they were exposed that senior public servant who advised won’t be a senior public servant anymore let alone a public servant.

      I’m sure you’ll maintain that its true so here’s a challenge for you why don’t you report that to the Commonwealth Ombudsman who will investigate that matter, here’s their web address: http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/

      One more thing, you might be exceptionally qualified to apply for any publicly advertised Australian Public Service position, but the reality is the best person for the job is not always the ‘exceptionally qualified’, that is the reality.  You may be qualified to do the job but can you demonstrate that you can do the job?

      Reply

    • Sarah Goss says:

      01:25pm | 13/04/11

      Employment-related matters cannot be dealt with by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, however you are free to contact the Australian Public Service Commission.

    • David says:

      02:28pm | 13/04/11

      I suspect I know who “Double Standards” might be. If so then the story is not only true but disgraceful. If I am wrong about the identity of this individual then it is possible that this has happened more than once.
      The person I know was not only the best qualified but also, without doubt, the most able. The problem was that the position was one in which the person would have been “in the public eye” and those in charge found it unacceptable at the time.
      If I am correct then it all occurred too far back for any further action to be taken. The appropriate action was taken at the time but nothing came of it. The HREOC was involved, the Ombudsman was aware of the situation, a law faculty and a QC gave advice.
      Once the position was filled there was never any chance of success because of the highly public nature of the role and the government of the day knew that. 
      Rather than question the integrity of this person the commentators here would be better served to question the integrity of the government of the day and the very senior people who were complicit in the action.  I actually left the APS soon afterwards and it was one of the reasons for my departure.
      I have always regretted, as no doubt has Double Standards, not being able to go public.  George do not doubt for one minute that senior public servants who do this sort of thing manage to retain their positions. They are often far more powerful than the Ministers they serve - simply because they often know enough to bring down a government if certain matters are made public.
      It all sounds the stuff of conspiracy theories but the reality is - it happens.

    • Public Servant says:

      09:52pm | 13/04/11

      Are you kidding, George?

      I work in the public service and I can tell you now that you are one naive bunny if you think that the policies and procedures put in place in the public service ‘to protect the rights of prospective employees’ are ever actually to protect the rights of prospective employees.  They’re designed to protect the arse of the organisation, clear and simple.  Although there is an appeals process, it is rarely used and reactive rather than proactive.

      Crap people work everywhere.  Even in the public service.  This is why there is an exceedingly high level of bullying and harassment and workplace stress levels recorded for the public services.  The rules that are designed to protect employees and prospective employees can also be used to abuse, bully and harass.

      I had a grievance against the public service (my workplace) and I took it to the top level of state government.  Who was interested?  Noone.  It only ended when someone went to prison for a slightly related matter (she was not found out not through any correct process).

      How many people are required to ‘demonstrate that they can do the job’ before getting a job, by the way?  Your resume and testimonials and qualifications are the way you demonstrate that you can undertake a role.  Or are you suggesting that each person with a disability should be required to undergo some on the job pre demonstration to show them that they can do it?

      Commonwealth Ombudsman, don’t make me laugh.  Go and talk to some public servants about their experience in their jobs.

    • Robert S McCormick says:

      11:10am | 13/04/11

      Good one, Carl!
      I can’t understand why our supermarkets don’t employ more wheelchair bound staff. OK, they can’t stack high shelves BUT they can serve on the Deli. They can operate check-outs. I know these jobs are not at the high-end but they are jobs nonetheless. Aldi, at ;east in Victoria when I was last there, provide seats for their checkout operators so what could be better than someone supplying their own chair?
      Our supermarkets are generally Handicapped friendly - in particular Coles who have removed the prison bars from their supermarkets.
      There is another area where, though not wheelchair-bound, there is discrimination: The older members of our community - of which I am one - I applied to one of the chains for a job as a Night Filler. I was not looking for high pay, managerial or anything like that. I have had over 20 years experiences in food retailing. I got knocked back for the most inane bloody reason I can think of: “Thank you for your application for the position of Night Filler. We regret that due to “Lack of Experience” you jave been unsuccessful. Please note: You cannot apply for employment with our organisation for another 12 months.”!!!
      There are lots of jobs which people confined to wheelchairs are quite capable of doing the problem is those running the shows simply won’t employ them. As I understand it, people in wheelchairs are excluded simply because they are in wheelchairs. They must, at times, lead very lonely lives. Now a chair-bound check-out operator would quickly get to know the customers. They would build a rapport with them.This could lead to genuine ex-work friendships being formed - It would demonstrate to able-bodied people that those in chairs are not some sort of moron. I well remember when my late partner was in “The Chariot” people would come up &, rather than speaking innormal voices they screamed as if my partner was deaf, unable to understand English & had no brain. They were soon put in their place!

      Reply

    • Rebecca says:

      12:56pm | 13/04/11

      it’s amazing how many people have a victim mentatlity out there - I have a disability therefore I’m owed more than anyone else!! Well take a cup of cement and harden up!! I too have a permanent disability (which I acquired at 29) but lost my pension and all the associated perks several years ago when my husbands income got too high. Did we winge and complain?? Nope we battled and just got on with it - we paid to modify our house, have my car modified so I could drive it (and gain some precious independence) and purchased all the aids that I needed over the years ourselves. Yes I am fortunate that I have a husband that is able to support me but I have also worked from when I was strong and well enough to do so - I have days when I have major mobility issues but I push on and do what I have to do because at least I’m alive which is better than the alternative!!!
      It is the attitude of those that expect everything because they feel they deserve it who make all the deserving recipients look bad…

      Reply

    • Sam Smith says:

      01:22pm | 13/04/11

      And what would you plan to do if your husband letf you or became a non-working alcoholic and gambled away your home?

    • Carl Thompson says:

      01:38pm | 13/04/11

      I do not ‘expect everything’, I expect a fair go and not to be painted in a false and derogatory light by politicians and others.

      The argument that at least you and I are alive comes from the dark ages. It’s all about equality.

    • kelly says:

      03:59pm | 13/04/11

      Sorry, Rebecca, but yes you ARE LUCKY to have a partner whose income is high enough to preclude you from receiving DSP. What about single people in the same situation who don’t have your financial stability? How do they pay for those modifications on top of rent and bills? How do they do it without support from the government? Count your blessings and don’t attack people without your financial advantages.

    • Rebecca says:

      10:38pm | 13/04/11

      In response to those who felt compelled to respond to me:
      Sam - I get a job, any job hat I could to then support myself…
      Carl - I too would like to see a fair and equal world for everyone and I’m sorry that you think that being alive is better than the alternative is from the dark ages…that’s obviously a generational difference between us because I’m grateful for what I have and don’t expect something that I haven’t earnt…
      Kelly - the last time I checked the cut-off income figure wasn’t exceptionally high so please don’t think that we were in a high income bracket. And if I had been single?? That would have been a different circumstance but I still would have gone out and done any job that I could to support myself and my child - I still would not have expected everyone else to provide for me just because I was less able than the majority of society…

    • Sam Smith says:

      08:40am | 14/04/11

      Rebecca - you’re missing the point. If you were genuinely severely disabled per the vast majority of DSP recipients you would be UNABLE to find a job, Your comment that you can drive a modified vehicle tells me that you probably could work.  It means that you don’t suffer uncontrolled seizures, nor have an intellectual disability, nor uncontrolled type one diabetes. If you think you could get a job now, why are you sponging off your husband and not working?

    • Robert S McCormick says:

      12:17pm | 14/04/11

      Rebecca, Not one of the people I know who are handicapped in some way are demanding any preferentail treatment. They simply want to be given, just like able-bodied people, treated fairly when it comes to employment. You, apparently, have a very supportive able-bodied husband. Bully for Rebecca. She says her disability was acquired at the age of 29. How lucky she was. How lucky she, at least, had 29 years to get work & do her own thing. Maybe she should spare a thought for those intelligent-but handicaped men & women who have been chair-bound throughout their lives. They do get discriminated against in the work-place simply on the basis of being in that damned chair. Rebecca lost her pension’n'perks because her husband started earning more - he would have to have a fairly substantial income before she lost her pension’n'perks.
      That is exactly how it should be.
      When my partner, at the age of 52, became chair-bound there was never any pension’n'perks because of what I was earning. Access Cabs & a Health Care Card were the only benefits given!
      Pension’n'perks are, & were always intended tobe until people started rorting the system, to give financial & other assistance to people who were/are in dire need. You know, Rebecca, many families, as soon as they possibly can, reject their disabled children/siblings. They dump them.The chances of even being considered for employment are damn near zero. Those are the people who deserve the assissatance of Federal & State Governments. They are not, as you seem to think, demanding any special treatment. I suspect you are bitter about the fact that you lost your pension’n'perks.

    • Ronni says:

      11:19pm | 14/04/11

      Good on you for your get on with it attitude Rebecca.
      I think you have been unfairly attacked. I find it astounding that you would be accused of sponging off your husband when single parents say they can’t work because of their parenting duties and so deserve welfare. Yet your child is seemingly not allowed the benefit of a stay-at-home parent in their eyes. There never seems to be any credit given for those that self fund their or their child’s disability needs and alleviate the stress on the system for others. We are just labelled as lucky.

    • Mahhrat says:

      01:39pm | 13/04/11

      The thought that crosses my mind here is the same one that crosses my mind when discussing a “Work for The Dole” program:

      We aren’t talking about the job you want, we’re talking about ANY job.

      In a perfect world, if you have the qualification and the ability you should be able to work in that field.  The real world however states that there’s only so many of a particular job to get around.  I refer many artists as exhibit A.

      I love the article and I support everything you say except that one thing - the goal of society (if we’re going to have one at all) should be to get you into constructive work, not simply the job you want to do.

      To do otherwise means we risk providing preferential treatment, rather than restrictions - each is as bad as the other.

      Reply

    • Ana says:

      01:23pm | 15/04/11

      However, Carl has spent many years studying and working towards the ‘job that he wants’ - as does every other single student at university… Why is it OK for Carl to spend the same amount of money in HECS fees and do the exact same amount of work whilst dealing with his own personal and medical setbacks and not be allowed the same opportunity to get into the job that he ‘wants’?
      Not attacking you here just saying that I think it’s unfair for people to be treated unequally and unfairly when they have put the same amount of work in as any other person in the field.

    • Kal says:

      05:39pm | 13/04/11

      While we’re on the subject of those who feel ‘deserving’ and want handouts, why are we not putting it into perspective? Why are disability pensions being targeted while far less needy and deserving people are receiving generous middle-class welfare payments?

      I found myself in a situation where I was not able to work due to chronic illness. I went on sickness benefits (same payment as Newstart) while waiting and hoping for my health to improve. When I went back to work it was only part-time. But once I started earning about $450 pw I was no longer eligible for benefits, health care card, nothing.

      Fair enough, you say? I thought so too, until I mentioned it to the woman who sat next to me at work. She informed me that she was earning about $70,000 a year and was getting Family Tax Benefits A and B and rent assistance because she had a teenage son.

      I was gobsmacked. Why is a single person with a serious chronic condition and expensive medical costs not entitled to welfare because she earns $23,000 pa, while a single parent with one child earning three times that much gets three different kinds of assistance?

      She has $35,000 per person per year, while I only have $23,000. (And that doesn’t even take into account the fact that rent and bills are much cheaper for two people living together. I pay $200 pw rent for my one-bedroom flat and she pays $300 for two.) How is that fair?

      Why are parents happy to get government handouts at the expense of people with disabilities who are far worse off financially? It’s sheer hypocrisy.

      Reply

    • Kal says:

      06:07pm | 13/04/11

      PS. I’m not entitled to the disability pension either because I work 18 hours per week.

    • michael j says:

      07:34pm | 13/04/11

      NOT to worry both sides POLITICS have made it plainly clear,,as much as pollies can with their spin gibber,,,,that welfare for DSP will STOP, and NEWSTART will make you travel by whatever means possible 1,000 s of klm
      if it looks like there is a job to be had at minum wage,,
      And the age foe old age pension will probably rise to 72 in the next decade,,

    • Simon J says:

      07:26am | 14/04/11

      Fran: you’d also be shocked and surprised to find out what ISN’T eligible. Years ago, the Howard Government ‘cracked down’ on the DSP. I had the pension, then I became one of those ‘real Australians’ who got a job and started his own business. This made me ineligible for pension, which was fine, because inwas working and earning $500 a week (yep). While off the pension, Howard government changes kicked in. This year, my business partner and I had to wind up our company. Nervous for money, I re-applied to the DSP. Those crack downs meant to get rid of bludgers? They rendered me ineligible for the DSP because I didn’t have enough points on their system. I have cystic fibrosis (look it up, it’s fun!). Now I have no pension and spent months unemployed, terrified and desperate.

      Our system isn’t in a rorting crisis. It’s instead on the other end of the spectrum, with crisis point being reached for the very people it’s supposed to help. Be careful what you wish for when it comes to DSP crack downs. They might just work, and be so tough in their love, they leave genuine disabilities on the curb with the cheats.

      Reply

    • Definative says:

      08:21am | 14/04/11

      Unfortunately the few disease the many. Two families in my street are more than capable of working. Yet they choose to accept low cost housing, dole money and even tax payer-funded taxis to ferry their ‘incapable of walking’ progeny to and from school (despite the parents owning and driving their own cars). They openly and actively mock the system for the benefits thrown at them. I am tired of seeing them aimlessly wonder the streets causing all sorts of mayhem on the responsible tax paying public. I say the sooner these people are filtered out and dealt with the fairer our system will be for those in genuine need…

      Reply

    • Sam Smith says:

      08:44am | 14/04/11

      When you say “incapable of walking” do you mean that they are disabled? If so, you may be severely underestimating the level of care required out of school hours,, and indeed having to be “on call” during school hours.
      Just a thought?

    • Definative says:

      10:41am | 14/04/11

      Sam I mean lazy not disabled. The little darlings are mollycoddled by our welfare system and driven to school. Its not they have any impediment (other than lazy, deadbeat parents) it is to ensure they attend school. See without you and me paying our taxes these poor little dears would not be able to count to 10…

    • Michael says:

      02:24am | 15/04/11

      Its going to be interesting to see how this all pans out, but im predicting crime wave, downward envy is going to turn to fear when you start filtering out the malcontents and they start taking from you directly, reap what you sow you judgemental arse hats.

      Reply

    • Ana says:

      01:14pm | 15/04/11

      I’ll admit right now that I am unsure about many of the different aspects of Centrelink eligibility for different payments. What I do know is that it is incredibly hard for me to keep my Centrelink payment as a full-time student at university, working part time and living away from home with no financial support from my parents whatsoever. I can’t imagine how much harder it is for people with a disability who not only need their payment to keep up with rent, bills etc but also pay for the overwhelming medical costs associated with their health. I do work as a note taker for students with a disability at my university and I have to say that these are some of the most hard-working people I have ever met in my life. It is hard enough to complete a university degree and get somewhere in this world with ‘normal’ physical and mental capabilities, let alone work, provide for and support yourself. It is too easy to say that people on a disability pension aren’t doing enough for themselves, that they expect everything from the world for simply being born and this attack from Abbott and Gillard is disgracful. What do they think cutting what is some people’s only source of livelihood while they are undertaking study to ensure a stimulating future and a steady financial position. The inalienable human rights to a clean and safe living environment, to the maintenance of health and the right to education are what is at stake here. It’s easy to make judgements against a group of people when you are not shafted into the same category so how about employing a sense of empathy and seriously consider what life would be like if you were in their position. And I don’t mean, ‘I have a disability but I’m happy to work whatever job I can get and so these other people don’t have a right to complain’ - I mean put yourself int he position of someone with a disability who has to grow up with parents who have not handed everything to them, who may have never been financially secure or maybe have just never cared about being succesful with a job that stimulates them daily; why is it ok for people like me to want a job like that and to work towards it but people with a disability should just ‘get what their given’? We live in a country that is supposed to provide equal opportunities to all citizens yet there is an attitude - most of the time unspoken but no doubt rife in our society where people who do not have certain privileges are not seen as being worthy to gain those privileges for themselves. Man up and realise that there are people who have real problems and need real help but are not getting it. To tell someone to ‘eat some cement and harden up’ because they have openly discussed their difficulties is patronising, condescending and downright disrespectful. For the amount of people ‘rorting the system’ there are a vast amount of people who are just trying to make the best life for themselves that they possibly can.

      Reply

    • Fly Benkhalek says:

      01:35pm | 14/05/11

      Hi Carl,

      I’m in agreement with you.  I’m out of work for mental disability due to migraines, and other disabilities; however, it is outrageous the way government is attempting to treat its disabled and elderly.  It’s been two years in U.S. since people with pensions or social security has gotten a raise.  It’s insane because the economy still rises, food, housing, clothing, etc.  It’s not our fault that our governments are playing political games with the hard-earned money of its peoples.  It sucks!  I’ve been trying to get welll to return to work; however, my medical team insist it takes time.  I do get frustrated and flustered when I hear this.  Great article.

      Reply
 
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