Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

As some of you know from my post a few weeks earlier, I have been made redundant. So I thought of informing Centrelink and they said they can put me on the Newstart Allowance, but there could be a waiting period since I was given some redundancy payment.

But that is not the main issue, I have to complete forms after forms and the questions they ask about my investments are even more than what the tax office would ask. I am just thinking now that it may not be worth to disclose that much information to Centrelink for the mere $400 odd dollars each partner per fortnight.

Have anyone in Australia gone through this Newstart Allowance scheme?? Seems like lots of hoops to jump through. I might as well take up a casual job instead...

centrelink want lots of information, and even then, you wont always get paid.

not really worth it unless you think you will be unemployed for a long time.

and youve got to keep going in again and again for "meetings" so they can check up and try and goad you into getting off it as soon as possible

Thanks guys for the reply. I decided to withdraw my claim for now... I would rather spend my time looking for a job than to spend my time putting forms and documents together and then for them to decide if I can claim anything...

At the present moment, time spent looking for work probably makes more sense...

Probably a wise move I tried for two years to get a pension and finally dicided it was easyer and less stressful to go back to work but now they are talking of making me pay back money that they never gave me.Did you see the show on telly a while back where they wrote to three people after they died telling them that their claim had been rejected because Centrelink considered them capable of working.

You would have thought that since Centrelink is working with other government bodies to somewhat detect fraud that the sensible thing for them to do is to link with the Birth, Death and Marriages department so that they get informed when people have passed on...

This goes back a long way.... but once while on a short stint on the dole between jobs....

Centrelink sent me a letter terminating my unemployment benefit... for failing to notify them of my new address...

Yep.... they sent it to my new address...

I know some people consider it a challenge, one guy I know has been on the dole his whole life. He could work and often does do a bit of work here and there when he wants some extra money. Seems it can be harder for the genuine people rather than the people rorting. I know I went down a few years back and inquired, I didn't even do the first interview stage, it just sounded too hard.

My sister is 39, never worked a day in her life...... Oh I lie she done a shift at maccas when she was 20.

Never had a drama with the rock n roll in and out of uni for 20 yrs tafes and courses. She has had periods where she didn't have an address yet still on the rock n roll... As somone who has worked since I was 16 iv had bout 7mo on sickness benifits and that was hard to get and several letters a day cancelled payments etc as soon as I was better I was back to a new job! Iv never delt with them again!

They knew one of them was dead because the letter was addressed to the late MR so and so.On the same show they had a guy who was surfing the world compliments of Centrelink and bragging about it.