If a lady was claiming the sole parent pension for 5 children, and the first child was born 17 yrs ago, and was living with the father of the children the whole time, (he didn't know either), what could she expect to happen as in punishment when she is investigated for fraud?
Hi all,
I recently saw my gastroenterologist about my severe gastroparesis which has been ongoing for 3 years with no improvement, due to my condition I have a reduced work capacity and need financial support in order to survive.
I also go to the functional gut clinic re his referral as has admitted that he cannot help me further and has sent me to a clinic that is advanced in gastroenterology, and still they still can’t help me enough, there’s a lot of evidence of my condition being complex and severe.
When I saw my gastroenterologist he said he would write me a letter and a month later I receive a email from him detailing:
“I have been hesitating to write a letter in support of your Disability Support Pension.
Not that I don't think you have any disability, but I am worried - on a society level - that Australians are struggling to keep up with taxes and our overall national debt level is alarming. If we can work and pay tax, we will be less dependent on each other for financial support.
I am very worried about the level of debts. Australian Government debt is very close to 1 trillion Jollars (ie. 1,000 billions). Interest repayment each year alone is about 50 billion dollars, and I am not sure how are we going to repay the principal if we can't even pay the interest back.
We should reserve funds to support the weakests amongst us, those who can't walk, those with severe cerebral palsy, strokes patients, severe depression and people who have severe injuries from car accidents etc...
I feel uneasy in writing a letter to support your application and I hope you understand how anxiety.
If you need your medical history to be transferred to another gastroenterologist of your choice who can assist you, I would happy to send the paperwork.
I wish you all the best with the journey ahead.”
I believe this is a breach of professional and ethical standards as his political views do not impact the position that I am in and do not change the fact that I cannot financially support myself.
What actions can I take from here?
Thank you for your support.
TL;DR: my gastroenterologist is refusing to write a letter supporting my application because of his political views.
Please help me.... I am 31 male, been on dsp since about 16, have autism, amd have no job experience.... I had a sort of epiphany how life is going to suck, no house, no savings, no future... I don't know what to do, before this happened I was on anti depressants and have stopped them for about a month and a half... my stomach always feels like it is churning. I have a fortnightly appointment with a disability employment group, which lasts about half an hour and over months, nothing has gotten done.. adding to that they want me to become the lowest of the low employee if possible (fair enough, I have no qualms about that. However it seems to be their end game, not a path to a good future) .
Additional info: over 10 years ago they did try get me on job seeking and in my immaturity somehow got them to give up on me, I don't even remember what happened. Applied for ndis last year and got rejected.
I have a learners permit and very slowly learning to drive, but even the appointments I get are few and far between.
My stomach can't take much more...
Hello, I was wondering if anyone has or is applying for super release financial hardship and could give me some closure especially if with Australian super I just been confirmed im eligible by centrelink and applied this morning providing CRN etc. Just wondering if ill have any issues surrounding or if it will be streamline as Im desperately in need thankyou :)
are there any penalties in place if you voluntarily quit a job? i’ve read that they’ve been paused but i’m unsure if that’s still in place.
A week ago, I shared my anonymous, independently-led 10-15 minute survey documenting the human cost of the Partner Income Test. (Original post here).
The survey has received over 500 responses and is still open for responses until Friday 1st May 2026.
Find more information and take the survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScjxWRvcKN2RSChd1y9r0_N_fUT3mHT2HFTIIVaJvospwbQ3w/viewform?usp=dialog
Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to share their story, and the survey. Feel free to reach out at EndthePIT@proton.me
(Thank you to the Centrelink and CentrelinkOz mods for allowing the original post to stay up, this post is to continue gathering responses and update the survey closing date).
​
I have recently created a YouTube channel as a hobby, which has performed better than I initially expected. I have now reached the required watch hours and subscriber count to begin earning income, expecting to receive my first payment soon.
I would like to seek advice on how to report this income to Centrelink. Should I include these earnings in my fortnightly reporting once I receive payment? But how would I report the hours worked, as there is no fixed schedule—I generally treat this as a part-time activity while continuing to search for full-time employment.
Or would this be suited for the 'manage income and payments' section. I want to ensure I meet all reporting requirements, as I am anxious that failing to report this income correctly could result in my payments being suspended.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Imagine you meet someone cute on a dating app. They just happen to be disabled and on DSP. You have a casual relationship. They're getting kicked out of their house and they have no other options, so you take them in.
Congratulations!
You now have an adult dependent you have to financially maintain indefinitely. That's how this forced financial dependency rule operationally works.
People who think this system is fair fail to imagine what it's like being the person with this heavy financial obligation or the person forced into dependency, or just think it happens to a lesser "other" who deserves it.
Our economy isn't structured to make single-income households viable. We have a cost-of-living crisis and a housing crisis.
Naturally, this causes strain in the relationship. It helps create the conditions for DV risk. It's well known financial independence is extremely important for making women safer.
Socially, very few normal people are comfortable with being forced into dependence. It's a huge loss of face. You have to go to your partner asking them to pay for this and that - over and over. It's against post 1950's social norms, which value independence.
Many disabled people can't afford relationships for this reason. The cost is too great. It's an effective veto on disability marriage equality.
My campaign (www.endpartnerincometesting.com) is fighting against this.
If I went into all the problems this forced financial dependency rule causes, this post would go on for pages and pages. Suffice it to say, the stories people have sent us are horrific. Count yourself lucky if you're not forced into this arrangement.
It's time to get rid of this inhumane policy.
Short story: Mum's in care, paid a RAD. I know this is not assessable for pension purposes, but I was told on the phone with Centrelink it should be reported because it affects the means test for care fees.
Problem: Where does this get reported? There's no category for it on the "income and assets" reporting screen. If I put it in as an "other" asset, how will they know that it is a RAD and non-assessable?
The only info I can find online implies that the care provider reports this, not the Centrelink customer.
> ###Reporting RAD balances > > Under the new Aged Care Act, providers are required to report RAD balances monthly as part of their subsidy claim.
Does that mean it doesn't have to be entered into the Centrelink site by the customer at all?
I'd call back and ask, but the phone wait is over an hour, which seems crazy for a straightforward question that should be addressed on their website.
as you've probably deduced, i in fact DID meet my obligation.
i have to ring these people tomorrow to sort out yet another fuck up. first, the week prior, their appointment calendar tells me i have 2 appointments instead of my usual 1 appointment per fortnight, i tell them "hey, i can't make either of these appointments as i'm employed and will likely be called into work for both days" (which is the truth and i was pre warned by my employer that this could and would likely happen), so i said "let's do a phone appointment instead".
they said "no problem, let's have the appointment TODAY and we'll mark you off so you're clear". seems pretty good right? well apparently, they've not marked me off for those appointments (the first or second one) and have pinned me as the bad guy and are now trying to punish me for something that isn't my fault.
this isn't the first time they've done it either. i got put onto a 3 month long online course for the heinous crime of not being able to find a job? *gasp*, how fucking dare i not get hired by the AI robot posing as a company i applied to work for on indeed. what a piece of shit i reaaallly am.
and... i don't know if you've had a good old LOOK AROUND YOU RECENTLY, but this is the exact opposite thing to be doing to people. never did i think it would be this fucking bad at 21.
so now, for a crime i have not commited, i am being consigned to poverty by the rich, i am being swatted by the helping hand and i'm being driven off a cliff with stress and paranoia for the next time my world is interrupted or fucking ruined for the sake of error and greed.
I'm a disabled jobseeker and full time university student but I still have mutual obligations to get my payment which I need to pay rent. Early this year I was really unwell and was given a break from my obligations for 3 months except that also meant I wasn't getting any job search assistance for 3 months 🤦♀️🫠
This morning I got a text from my "inclusive employment" service who apparently booked an appointment for me for tomorrow morning without telling me until now. I can't make it because I have university class, but even if I didn't, this provider is not near public transport (and I dont have a car) and has steps into the building and I require level access.
The provider never picks up their calls so I haven't been able to tell them I can't make it, but I want to do the right thing so I tried calling Workforce Australia because I also need them to change my provider to one that is actually inclusive and accessible. I called at 5:10 PM thinking the wait time would be less since its not the middle of the day (every time I've called them previously its been over 90 minutes of waiting!!). Instead, I was told my wait time was predicted to be over 2 hours and 30 minutes!!!!
What. The. Actual. F**k?!?!?!?
Given they close at 7 PM, I wasn't going to waste 2 hours on the phone only for my call to not be picked up before they close so I hung up and I guess I'll have to try calling them tomorrow but in all seriousness are they trying to discourage people from contacting them?!?!?!?!?
Hey guys,
Just had a little question. I logged into Centrelink to see my future payments, and one of the tasks that showed up was a Bank Balance Update but without any due dates. I was wondering if I actually needed to do this, and if I were to, would I need all the supporting documentation's like full bank statements, etc.?
Thanks for the help.
My wife works for a real a-hole, doing 2 full days making about $470 a week.
Over the weekend she got an email telling her that she'll have a meeting about maybe being made redundant. She has no leave with this job and told them today that shes happy to walk out the door at the end of the meeting. The business is less than 12 employees, so she won't get paid out.
She at the moment also works for her old boss. There she earns $50 an hour, invoiced.
We both run a small business that isn't flying but can.
I'm doing both UberEats and DoorDash, plus I'm on new start doing a profit/loss.
We have 2 kids under 7.
The way I see it, if she makes a dea and quits, but gets a separation cert she can go on centerlink, become the "carer" for both out kids, lose $120 a fortnight, claim about 3/4 of what shes invoicing and bring in more money than what she is now.
I should add, over the last 12 months shes had a few mental health issues, some caused by her job.
The system can be played, should we play it?
As we approach the end of the financial year I am wanting to be prepared in what I need to do. I currently run my own small business and have submitted all the required documents to CL and was advised that at tax return they will use that to determine my payments moving forward.
When I submitted my profit and loss my profit was under $400 for the month so it was said it wouldn’t affect any of my payments for now.
Just want to know, when it come to doing my taxes what do I need to do to ensure I am doing everything right for CL. As I have only done tax return for my previous job and hungry jacks where everything was simple and autofilled due to being under 18 when working there so I have no idea where to start for this and just want to be prepared.
TIA
Today I got offered a job, that is max 20hours a week. I’m not sure the pay per hour but I would only be working 4 days a week. I receive single parent payment , FTB a&b. My rent is going up to $1000 a fortnight in June,
How will this job affect my payment? First time back to work since being a single mum for the last 8 years ☺️
hi!
i’m a 22f and i’ve recently quit one of my jobs while i am on jobseeker due to me studying as well and unable to manage all three. i’ve always reported to centrelink both incomes and i haven’t ever gotten any warnings or anything.
i was just wondering if anyone has had an experience quitting one of their jobs and how centrelink handled that? unfortunately because i’m actually finishing my high school education from what i’ve understood i can’t make this my primary form of studying (if it makes sense) i also have an off campus cert 3 class going on and workforce has allowed me to report that for those points.
my other job gives me about 2 shifts a fortnight which is good but unfortunately if i do manage to switch to youth allowance (while still eligible) then i simply wouldn’t earn enough. i live with my family still but pay board every fortnight and buy my own everything (which isnt meant to come across as complaining!) so the youth allowance pay that’s been estimated to me wouldn’t be enough as about half of it would go to paying board and then it’d need to last me two weeks 😅
the TLDR is basically that i’m quitting one of my jobs and i’m worried centrelink will want me to go onto youth allowance while eligible due to me needing to quit because of studies. which i then won’t be able to afford to live (or I’d very much struggle to)
I'm looking for a human story on someone who was affected by robodebt, and would love to chat with someone from this group, as everyone seems very passionate.
Please reach out to me if you feel you have a story to tell (and of course you can remain anonymous if you wish).
Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice from other parents in WA.
We recently moved to Australia in Sept 2025 on a 491 visa and just became PR this year. We have a 2-year-old and really need to put him into childcare soon so I can work full time and maybe go back to study.
Our problem is: our Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is still being processed, and without it, childcare fees are honestly too expensive for us to afford long-term. We’re worried about starting and paying full fees, especially since CCS is only backdated up to 28 days.
Our main concern also is about the residency requirement:
• Is becoming a PR enough to meet the CCS residency rules?
• Or is there a waiting period (like the 4-year one for Family Tax Benefit)?
• Does eligibility start from when we became PR or when we first arrived in Australia?
Just a bit confused and don’t want our application to get rejected because of this.
Would really appreciate if anyone has been in a similar situation or knows how this works. Any advice or shared experience would really help. Thank you!
Hi, I'm autistic, and I would appreciate if someone could walk me through what to expect going to centerlink for the first time. Autism and anxiety are having a What If Everything is Covered In Bees!? fear of the unknown party in my brain
A friend of my mum's said she'd help and take me, but she's been sick and I feel like I'm a burden to keep waiting for her to be well enough to help me
Can someone walk me through what to expect?
Like, super basic, this then that then this. Will I have to speak to multiple people? One person at an open desk? or just forms first time and speak to a person later etc. Is it going to be worse if I cry because I will get overwhelmed and I don't know if I'll manage to not cry.
Context: I'm autistic, with significant mental health problems, and having a hard time taking myself to centerlink even though I desperately need financial and practical help. I'm long term unemployed and was just eating through savings, asking for help was always treated as failure and shameful etc, so I haven't ever been to centerlink (which is objectively super duper dumb, but oh well, my time machine is broken so I guess this is now).
The first page of my outcome letter says
20 April 2026
Your JobSeeker Payment
Information used for calculating your regular payment
Total Fortnightly Income .......................................... $0.50