I’m having a meltdown, carer fatigue. The carers section, where did it go? Centrelink anxiety

Oh gosh @Dark_Olena I am so sorry, that sounds like an absolute nightmare!! I am sorry to say I don't have much to suggest in terms of practical steps to take - I'm not as familiar with the DSP. However I did find this website, perhaps you could give these guys a call and if they can't help, they might still be able to point you in the right direction?

Re: the Carer's section - we have simply consolidated into one forum to better streamline everything! The Friends Family & Carers forum is now under the 'Spaces' banner up top! Or here's a handy link 😉

Hi @Dark_Olena

I'm sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time at the moment. It really sounds like someone has majorly dropped the ball in regards to your daughters disability pension. It can be so frustrating when you have done everything right and followed all the steps that Centerlink put in place to then be let down by the system itself.

I've heard that if you call the Centerlink number to make an appointment first thing in the morning when they open it can help with actually getting through to someone... I know it's Friday but if you don't have any luck today you could try this on Monday morning next week? Also, have you asked for your case to be escalated at all?

I understand how frustrating and upsetting this is and you have alot of responsibility in caring for your daughter, but is there a way you can take a few moments for yourself for your own self care?

Warm regards

SkySeeker22

Hi @Dark_Olena, I'm sorry to hear what has happened to your daughter. These places are frustrating to deal with at the best of times.

You could try here to lodge complaints, depending on the services you daughter used...

https://www.jobaccess.gov.au/complaints (as @Jynx already suggested, but they do have a variety of contact methods)

or here..

https://www.dewr.gov.au/about-department/contact-us/complaints/making-complaint-about-employment-services

The turnover of staff in these places has always been an issue. I has with a disability employment agency for a while until I was told to apply of a disability support pension, which was approved earlier this year after 7 months 'processing'.

Once my DSP came through I was automatically taken off the books of the DEA as I was told there are no requirements to stay in contact with them once you are no longer on Job seeker. The DSP had no such requirements for payment so I've haven't had dealings or contact with them since. So i'm just wondering why your daughter still had appointments with them while on a disability pension in the first place.

One tip with Centrelink is not to worry about phoning them to sort stuff out, it's very much luck of the draw of who you get to talk to on whether anything gets resolved. Make an appointment to go and speak to someone face to face if you have an office nearby, or that it's possible for you to go there. It's a really frustrating, and obviously upsetting system to try and navigate. I hope you can get this resolved soon.

Hi @Dark_Olena,

I'm sorry to see that both you and your daughter are going through such a difficult time right now. Especially as it is a mess created by a service that was meant to support your daughter.

As well as the services shared by @Jynx and @MJG017, there are different specialist legal centres that can provide advice and support regarding issues with Centrelink - here is a list of each one for every state and territory: https://www.ejaustralia.org.au/legal-help-centrelink/. I hope that you find the support that you need and that things improve for the two of you soon.

I am also a carer and struggle with fatigue and burnout, and it isn't easy… Please try to remember to be kind to yourself right now.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Hi, I am sorry to hear of your difficulties with Centrelink communication. Perhaps you might have better results if you make an appointment at your local C/link to sit face to face with someone. And take as many of your daughters ID, her and your birth Certs, (to identify you as her mother), and other relevant Docs. Via phone is too impersonal.

My daughter has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia. How difficult was it, and how long did it take for your daughter to receive DSP?

@MJG017 Thanks for your support, it means alot. I am late with replies as hubby, my daughter and I were having some time away in Queensland and this unfolded while on our last few days. We returned to Vic today. I dont know if differents states have different rules but my daughter is 27 and has to report to a disability employment agency every fortnight to recieve her dis pension. She is busy most of the week with providers and such and volunteering on a Friday with St Vinnes op shop. I think because her disability is invisible, until you spend some time with her. You would realise she wont speak. When she is 35 I believe they wont make her do courses or apply for jobs, to which she cannot do. How disabled does a person need to be to which they would say, 'We see you' and you dont need to appy for jobs. Why is 35 the number to which they may have better insight into disablities.

I feel like I am going into battle as I am asking APM tomorow for documentation of my daughters appointments for that last 3 months. Centrelink has said she has not attended since June. Not true. I took her to those appointments and watched her go in and watched her come out. My daughter is autistic with moderate to severe social anxiety. So they dont get alot from her, but I am tired and stopped going to AXIS employment, years ago. I went to every appointment every fortnight for 3 years and did all the talking for my daughter. Today I have had enough. I cant do it anymore. I burnt out. Now I'm scared APM will get themself out of trouble and say my daughter did not attend those appointments.

hey @Dark_Olena i'm really sorry to hear how overwhelming this situation has been for you and your family. your daughter most definitely deserves to be supported and seen, and it really does suck that she hasn't been treated in such way. i can see how fiercely you care by the way you are fighting for her, i wish you didn't have to fight so hard in the first place but it is truly inspiring to see you do this for her.

from what i've interpreted, there surely should be proof of your daughter attending those appointments in the last 3 months that you can obtain, fingers crossed you get your hands on that documentation.
please do remember to take breaks in between and look after yourself - i know it's easier said then done, but i hear you're feeling burnt out and sometimes we need to take those breaks for self-care to refuel ourselves. whether that's just taking a couple minutes to reconnect with nature, have a warm bath, talk to a friend, etc. we're here, sitting with you 💗

I'm in my 50s so maybe that why I don't need to look for work on a DSP. It just seems odd to me. A DSP is usually for people who can't work. It's a complicated system, which is hard to understand at the best of times, but rarely a fun or easy on to be a part of.

I looked it up... https://guides.dss.gov.au/social-security-guide/3/6/1/110

And yes you are right, only people under 35 and on a DSP still have participation requirements! Seems like an unnecessary stress for people that young with disabilities that prevent them from working, but we seem to need one size fits all systems in place to make it easy for everyone involved, apart from the person getting the payment of course.

Ive had issues in the past where I've had appointments and had my payment instantly cut off because someone at the agency 'forgot' to enter me in the system as 'attended'.

These workforce providers can mostly be a nightmare to deal with so if you can't clear things up with them. Make an appointment to speak to someone at Centrelink and they are usually far more helpful in sorting these issues out. You could also contact the unemployed workers union https://www.auwu.org.au/ specifically, https://www.auwu.org.au/dsp-advocacy

They may be able to provide some better information or advise you how to proceed.

It's certainly a lot of stress for your daughter and yourself, which isn't fair to either of you. Unfortunately the whole system just doesn't seem to care about the individuals in it. If they continue to say your daughter didn't attend meeting when you know she did, then you do have further avenues to take it, but hopefully it doesn't come to that. I can completely understand how exhausted from dealing with this you must be.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Hi @rav3n I went into APM today and begged the woman to give me documentation so I could take it to Centrelink, she seemed promising then went away for 3 minutes to talk to management, then came back and had these wishy wash reasons why she couldn’t print off.

I asked her if she had studied autism, she said no, but I have a cousin etc, not the same in my opinion. She said she was the one who reported my daughter’s 2 day late reply to an email appointment.

We uprooted our daughter to go on a holiday, we needed to. Her routine turn on its head. Her appointment not on her usual day. We are in a different state, she has autism. Made no difference to this woman. I said she has severe/moderate social anxiety. These are the reasons, my daughter didn’t reply on the same day as the email appoinment.

She is wanting to push my daughter to long term study to improve her job opportunities. My daughter has poor executive function and alexithymia; this means struggle to express what she is thinking or what her thoughts are, so they are not going to go far with her.

I am tired and cant be in her appointments with her, because I did all the talking for her years ago with AXIS and I dont thinks its helpful.

I went to Centrelink and they told me it has nothing to do with Centrelink and all to do with attending the next appointment with APM. I send this information to APM in hopes to know if this is true, and APM says we hope this fixes your payment at her next appointment with APM.

All this is stressing my out so much, I feel like I am in a hurricane and people who dont get it, are going to affect her pension.

Only 23% of poeple with ASD have paying jobs.

I dont think people who work for disability employment agencies without training or study of autism and other disabilities should be allowed to be so pushy without knowing the struggle for ASD people and other disabilities.

If this all turns pear shaped and my daughter is still on suspension after October 21st, who can I make a complaint to. This APM in my town is a sure dud and my daughter had 3 new staff since May this year and in 18 months 8 new staff, a high turn over, not good, plenty of mistakes.

My daughter loves her holidays with her mum and dad, she loves surrendering to all the providers and appointments to be warm in Queensland and eat ice cream. We were gone 4 weeks but still kept our obligations to APM/ Centrelink via email/phone appointments.

If APM are going to be really pushy with my daughter with her job search and study, who can i talk to to let them know of her struggle with social interactions?

Thank you for your support, I am so grateful and appreciative. Have a good day.

@Sujema My daughter was diagnosed ASD when she was 14 and a half and we applied for DSP when she was 18. There are many many questions and paperwork, you could get help from a place like AXIS or other, I’m not sure who can help. I wish you all the best with your daughter.