Lived Experience Forum

[getbetter]

Having been ill for many months, I was able to see centrelink and get a newstart allowance with medical certificate that pays for my medication and psychiatrists visits , my last medical certificate was rejected with no reason given and an appointment made to see a job services provider with my file indicating that I am fit for 30 plus hours a week fulltime work.

While centrelink staff where understanding and saw the mistake and booked me in for a job capacity assessment which is a good thing , the job services provider refused to cancel the appointment or move the appointment until after the assessment even after centrelink rang them and asked them to move the appoinment until more information was known , that left me in an extreme condition of having to attend with the fear of being sent for work I simply could not do.

Fortunatly after meeting an understanding person at the job service provider, she rang centrelink and discused what could be done eventually deciding to leave any further action until after the assessment.

My point in telling this is to explain what should have happened in this situation as told to me by a helpfull person on the centrelink complaints dept.

I should have been flagged as a vulnerable person by centrelink, that allows job service providers to see this

The certificate should not have been "just rejected" but contact made with me to explain that after a certain amount of time/certificates, I need to attend a job capacity assessment, which I am happy to do if it can help me.

My concern is with someone who does not research this mistake, that they will be sent to work in a condition that they are unfit for work, following what is asked of them and not wanting to make a fuss but having this make the condition worse if not tragic.

The commonwealth ommbudsman has a set of guidelines that centrelink agreed to follow when dealing with mental illnes.

it's called falling through the cracks

http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/files/Falling-through-cracks_customers-with-mental-illness.pdf

it explains more of how centrelink is supposed to operate, you may be able to tell centrelink staff about it.

The link is now not working for me, so if you find the same can you let me know and I will see if I can post the PDF somewhere.

Above all try to remain calm if you have to deal with this, as we all know, there is very little tolerence of aggravation even if you are right and your state of mind causes the aggravation

hope it helps someone.

[Appleblossom]

Its weird I dont mean to have an opinion on everything ... but as I used to work in the equivalent department ... I have experience on both side of the fence ..

The most important thing to remember ... is that Centrelink staff are just humans, flawed, and some are more empathic than others. Some are definitely bigoted..

Konw there are legal entitlements and try to follow them through calmly as possible, even when feeling desperate.

It is great that you did your research @getbetter .. and the possibilities for that are much better with the internet than they were when I was in that workplace.

The last time I was in Centrelink .. there were whispers from the security guard and 2 police hush and an obvious stand off .. I just could nt help it .. I made a soothing "were all in this together mate" comment to the "problem" person ... I couldnt just stay away .. the cops said they had it under control .. but I deliberately sat close enough to let him know we were watching .. and eventually they all went off calmly together.. I dont know if my small intervention made a difference .. or whether we went home or to the hospital as both were mentioned ...

but I just hope by good dialogue things improve.

[Fancy_Pants]

Hi @getbetter and Welcome to the forums!

thank you for sharing this pdf, info is a really powerful way to empower people

and i like your emphasis on calmness / understanding yet assertiveness 

I hope that things worked out for you

[JoseJones]

Welcome to the forums, @getbetter.

That sounds like a very frustrating and stressful experience, and I'm glad you encountered some understanding and empathic people along the way who helped you avert the impossible situation of being obligated to turn up for work you couldn't do.  I can understand your fears that other people may end up in this sort of situation and go through the difficulties you had to go through.  I think it's wonderful that you shared that with us so other people can be better equipped to handle it.  Thank you. 🙂

[Acacia]

Hi @getbetter

Thank you for sharing this valuable information. It's so sad that there are people who end up falling through the cracks. Well done for having the confidence to stand up for your rights.

I think I've found the pdf of the report here: http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/30022/falling-through-cracks_customers-with-...

How are you going now? How are things with Centrelink and the job network provider?

Thanks again for sharing!