I'd like to just point out the debt was raised against my Autistic son in 2009 but the form above didn't give me that option. I understand it is still being paid back today at $35 per fortnight primarily because, from the date the debt was raised, my son vowed to never ask for welfare again. He simply shut down even though I warned him it wouldn't go away, as he would find out later.
During this time he couch-surfed or relied on myself and his father to get by and then held hostage by a biker gang as an artist in their tattoo stores across QLD. Five years later he finally conceded (due to imprisonment/slavery by the bikers, destitution and homelessness) and asked for welfare again whereby he was forced to pay back the debt. I would appreciate it if the biker part was not made public, for his safety.
There has never been any explanation offered for the debt, other than he missed an appointment with his job agency while he was interstate investigating a job opportunity. I can say with 100% certainty the debt was not raised due to earnings because he lived with me during that period (I was also in receipt of a carer payment for him) and I know he did not work at all.
The debt came about when I rang Centrelink to inform them he was no longer living with me in NSW because he moved in with his father in QLD with the hope of gaining a job. I asked them to cancel the carer payment and, as his elected spokesperson, to notify them of his change of address and circumstances. The woman I dealt with on the phone spoke aloud what she was writing against his records "Mother called to advise son is working". I protested "That is NOT what I said at all!". She replied "Too bad, you don't get a say in what I report at this end".
After some time debating with her I became angry and tried to demand to speak with her superior. She muted me several times, after the last muting her superior spoke with me. She also claimed I don't get a say in the matter, even though I was his nominated spokesperson. She claimed there was no record of my nomination, then later admitted there was but it was expired. I also had a signed letter from my son giving me permission to speak on his behalf, she said it wasn't valid.
No matter what I said, they refused point blank to let me raise an appeal on his behalf. As I am also Autistic (in receipt of DSP) and couldn't resolve the situation, how was my son expected to?
My son is religiously cut off from payments every month because he constantly fails to meet his obligations. He is currently suicidal because he has never been given the opportunity to live a normal life. I found him, a few months ago, under a bridge with a rope in his hands claiming this was an easier solution than dealing with Centrelink. A few weeks later, I found him camping in a paddock claiming that living and eating off the land was the only way he could survive.
When Turnbull first announced the NDIS, I was hopeful my son might be given an opportunity to live as normal a life as possible. My hopes were quickly dashed when he was told he doesn't qualify. I have written to both my local and federal members numerous times and they have offered nothing, other than reinstating his payments each time.
I have explained, just as I did in my own case, if there is no longer support for unemployed people with disabilities (ie: appropriate housing & job-matching etc) then we have no other choice than to apply for DSP. They agreed, but Centrelink is still saying he's not eligible - yet I have the same condition and I am eligible. We have been on this merry-go-round for 3 years with no end in sight.
And, to top it all off, my son is actually a fully qualified tattooist and tattoo removal specialist who could walk into a job today (he has numerous offers), but we don't have $1000 to spend on applying for a government license that may well be refused due to his previous association with bikers. I have also explained this to my federal member and asked for the fee to be waived but have never received a reply.
Tax-payers should be concerned that the government is deliberately keeping my son unemployed instead of helping him get back to work with the only skill-set he will ever posses (due to Autism). The government prefers to spend tens of thousands of dollars in Newstart Allowance and retraining than to simply waive the $,1000 license fee and let him get back to securing a normal life based on his own credit.
This government cares about nothing but it's own security net, which it is financing on the back of vulnerable people like my son.