Moving to another area...
Ok, So before I signed upto my course, I called up centrelink, gave them the provider number and course code and was told it is eligible for Austudy. So I sign up, give them the details and am then told it isn't so I have to go on Newstart (DH is on PPP). Thats fine, I knew I would be going to get a job at the end of this I was just hoping to have my cert first. But also we have decided to move. There were several factors in deciding to move. The current area and our support network. Where we are right now we do not have a support network - we ARE the support network for the bulk of DHs family. He is getting constant calls from them for help but there is no one we can ask for help if we need it and to be perfectly honest for all the help we do provide them, they still seem to pretend like myself and our children are transient visitors and will 'go away' soon. We do not mind helping out my family because they help us to help them. We went to QLD last year to help my sister move at the end of june. However I was due to have Phoebe then and DH didnt want to leave me on my own because I had no way to get to the hospital and no one to watch the kids. My mum and another sister drove 3 hours to my dads place to stay with me in case I went into labour. Mum and my Sister would watch my kids and Dad would take me to the local hospital. If it were his family we were helping I would have been on my own.
Anyway thems the reasons - but on newstart I have to discuss moving to a different area. The guy checked for me yesterday and the difference in unemployment rate between here and where we are planning on moving to is 2.5%. Since it is over 2% it becomes a 'need permission or get cut off for 6 months' thing. Now moving near immediate family is fine, but that is only if you are within 30min drive. This is where it becomes complex. It is 2 hours drive from my support network. We have discussed it at length with them and we all agree that 2 hours is a perfectly reasonable and acceptable distance for all given the remote nature of their location. Unfortunately our discussions dont mean much to centrelink. Now I know this guy is just quoting what is written which for the most part is all they are allowed to do. I have worked with the ATO before and I know that in a government agency with so much legislation around it, very few people are allowed to be 'free thinkers'. I am obviously going to have to plead my case with one of those.
We picked the area we have because it is a reasonable distance to my family while also having good employment and work prospects with several major towns. The alternative - which is within 30 mins driving distance to my family - is a tiny town with minimal job prospects and even less for me as my MVR precludes me from serious manual labour. To move there I would remain unemployed and my DH would remain underemployed as his business would have absolutely no growth potential. I could however move to this area and remain on benefits for years to come without contest from centrelink. We do not want to do that. We want the chance to grow and have decent prospects for employment.
Has anyone had some experience with this? Does anyone have an opinion on what my chances are to be approved for this? We are moving no matter what they say - if we have to take the risk of living for a period of less income (be the whole waiting period or until I get a job) then that is just what we have to do to better our situation. Obviously since we are looking at a larger rent amount we would prefer to not have to. There is other areas just north with better unemployment rates that I can apply to, but we cant actually afford to live in those towns.
If they said no, could I make a decent appeal?
