Brain tumour survivor slams Centrelink after support payments cut off mid-recovery (2024)

The journey to recovery from a major surgery is a courageous and challenging endeavour.

With each step forward comes a profound sense of resilience and determination, as individuals navigate the physical, emotional, and cognitive effects of their treatment.

Unfortunately for Australians relying on welfare services, hospitalisation doesn't always mean understanding and support from governmental agencies.

Mark (name changed) found himself in a dire situation where his Centrelink payments were halted while he was unable to fulfil his job-seeking obligations due to being in the hospital recuperating from a brain tumour surgery.

His jobseeker payments were suspended by his job agency in April 2023, despite submitting a medical certificate verifying his surgery.

A letter from Services Australia said his payment was ‘stopped from 14 April 2023 because you did not go to, or were late for an appointment arranged by your provider on 13 April 2023’.

There is no rule mandating employment agencies to communicate with their employees before halting their payments.

Despite Mark submitting a medical certificate to Services Australia citing his inability to meet his obligations due to undergoing surgery on 10 April, the payments were still suspended.

‘I ended up in hospital after the operation and then got a text message from [the job provider] saying they’ve cancelled my payments, which was really frustrating,’ Mark said.

The disheartening reality was that the medical certificate took weeks to process, while Mark faced six weeks without financial assistance during his recovery when clarity of thought and communication was impeded.

The suspension placed him in a vulnerable position with no funds to cover the basics such as food or a roof over his head—particularly problematic as he was also grappling with homelessness.

‘Technically, I was in hospital, but I was homeless. I was staying in short-term accommodation,’ he explained.

‘So I thought, “That’s all I need to have that cut off. How am I going to pay rent anywhere? Buy food?” It was just a kick in the guts I didn’t really need at the time.’

‘I had to try then, to call them back, then call the manager, and it just became a drawn-out process,’ he added.

Mark relocated to his sister's residence in regional Victoria to recover from the operation.

With her assistance, he reached out to Services Australia and applied for a medical exemption.

However, he expressed frustration, stating that his benefits should not have been terminated in the first place.

‘I think it’s overreaching,’ he said. ‘[Services Australia] have been given too much authority to cancel people’s payments without proper due diligence.’

He expresses gratitude for the current medical exemption but recalled, ‘it just wasn’t there’ when he needed it initially.

The concerns echoed by ACOSS Chief Executive, Cassandra Goldie, point to an immediate need for reform, saying the number of suspensions was ‘unconscionable’.

‘Each month, more than 80,000 people are threatened with loss of the income support that barely keeps them fed and housed, often due to oppressive automated systems that can make it impossible for people to meet their compliance obligations,’ she said.

Goldie added that the suspension of payments can cause immense mental distress and exacerbate the financial hardship of those already struggling.

‘It is long past time to end this harmful practice,' she declared as she called for the system to show compassion and consider individual circ*mstances rather than operate on an automatic suspension protocol that can unjustly cut off vital support.

Last year, the parliamentary review conducted on the government's primary employment services program, Workforce Australia, proposed discontinuing automated payment suspensions, and suggested that only officials at Centrelink should be authorised to suspend income support payments.

Tony Burke, Minister of the Department of Employment and Workforce Relations (DEWR), as well as Mark’s job agency, has yet to comment on Mark’s issue.

Last week, a spokesperson of the department said that less than 10 per cent, or 28,283 of suspensions, result in a pause in income and that the median duration is four business days.

When asked about the actions to ensure that all suspensions are valid, a spokesperson said, ‘The department works closely with all providers to ensure that client requirements are appropriate to their individual circ*mstances.’

‘We monitor [providers’] application of the Targeted Compliance Framework and continually engage with providers on how they are applying payment suspensions and demerits, and take action where it is identified that compliance has been incorrectly applied.’

Aside from this issue, another problem that frustrates Aussies is waiting endlessly on hold in Centrelink lines before they can seek assistance from the government.

However, a savvy social media user recently revealed a trick on how to navigate this problem. You can learn more about it here.

What is your take on Mark’s case? Have you also had problems with your Centrelink payments? Let us know in the comments below.