centrelink failure vent

I swear some centrelink employees must be from another planet!

My mum has a LOT of issues and well for the last 7 weeks I have been helping her get some help. She took the first step and went to her dr, who referred her to a psychologist. Since this frist step things are improving, not much, but I can see a difference.

On top of this her dr suggested she apply for a disability payment from centrelink (she already receives a payment from centrelink). This pay would mean that she would be given the chance to be left alone, no hounding her for looking for work, appointments etc.

But today she got a letter from centrelink saying that she had being knocked back.

I have no doubt in my mind that this decision is worng, and thankfully she is going to appeal it.

Heres a sample of her history:
Extremely voilatile childhood, with a variety of nastiness.
Her closest sibling, her brother passed away when she was 16. Her sister left home at 14 addicted to drugs. Mum's parents took these two things in particular out on mum.
Dad died 6 weeks before my mum gave birth to my brother. Then her parents died, followed by a neice (SIDS), all in a few years.
Her current gp has said that she has been suffering from alcholism for the last 30yrs.
On top of all this severly beaten by many men including an exhusband and boyfriend. Once she was almost beaten to death by a random man one night too.
my brother almost died in a burns accident.
the list goes on.
The last job she had, the boss went mental on her, and instead of getting mad, mum got really depressed and things didnt look good.
Today mum is fragile, she flips out for no reason, and I quite often cope it. I know she needs help, her gp, social worker and psychologist know she needs help.... They have actually diagnosed her with clinical depression, with the added notes that they cannot see her being fit for work in the next several years.

BUT for some reason centrelink doesnt think she needs it.

I am so angry at centrelink right now. My mum needs help, and for some reason you cannot see that. She wants to get help, I want her to get help, but asking er to get work and move on with her hasn't work for my entire life thus far, what on earth makes centrelink think that it will work in the future?!

And on top of that, I know of several people who apply for the same payment whenever they feel like they need a break from working, even though there isn't anything really wrong with them.... And these people actually gloat about that too!
Thanks for reading

posted on your other thread
it's not about an employee making a judgement decision - trust me, as employees, our hands are tied!

when it comes to assessments, the job capacity assessor, JCA (the person you mentioned in the other thread) collects information. they are not necessarily a c'link employee. they are there to ask questions and get answers in regards to the ability to work, and if there is a limited ability, to rank the number of hours or how long the incapacity will last. they do this both by talking to the customer and by referring to the treating doctor report. the JCA report and the TDR are then ranked with your mum's own application, and they incapacity is rated on each of those. the TDR carries the highest "weight"

the main thing they look at is how long the incapacity is likely to last. less than 2 years will be an automatic no to DSP - it would be listed as an incapacity against newstart allowance (so the obligations would change). they take into account whether the person is getting adequate treatment (sounds like mum is), and how the illness will progress or improve with that treatment

trust me when i say these are not decisions taken lightly. as consultants we have to make decisions based on policies, whether we agree or not. we have rules we have to abide by, and if your mum didn't make the ratings based on the JCA and TDR, they would have to decline her application.

i get that you're peeved about the circumstances, but blame the system hun, not the indivduals. we're just doing our job

thank you bg...

I know everyone is only doing their jobs. Im just a bit peeved that for some reason they couldnt see what so many other people see, thats all.
I know its the system I've been saying that along when it came to the paperwork and all the appointments, I know that there are idoits out there who take advantage of the system, and I know that the system has to be careful with how they handle each situation.... But I really do feel like the system has slipped up on this one.

Just wanted to update about mum's situation.

Turns out the guy who did evaluate her was was not qualified in the mental health area. Also he did not get any medical certificates from her GP or therapist. He didn't even use any of the information that is in her file from the c'link social worker! He made a decision off a 10min (at most) interview.

So she has appealed. She is still seeing her GP and therapist. Most days she is doing well. Not well enough to work, and I doubt she ever will be. But thats not the focus right now.

I am hoping that her appeal is sorted soon, that she is seen byt he right people at c'link, and that they actually admit there is a problem.

Also she has requested any inquiry into the guy who did the interview in the first place, as it is clear he didn't do his job. And that came off of the suggestion of the fellow who she talked to from c'link about the appeal.

Beanbeans, I hope your mum gets a better response through the appeal process. I recently appealed something and I was surprised at how sympathetic and helpful the staff were that I dealt with. I suspect in my case it was just a poor decision by an isolated individual because it was a no-brainer for everyone else I spoke to. I hope the appeal goes smoothly and without any more hassle :hug:

Thanks MD,

Im hoping the same goes for mum. Every c'link she talks to is very understanding and say rhe same thing, that this case is a no-brainer. A few of them are even surprised she didnt apply for it earlier!
But thank you!