I was forced out of my public service job of 14 yrs six months ago (before covid stuff). It was clear my presence was not welcome in the workplace especially by the management staff changes who decided my support in the workplace was unacceptable. Six months I’ve been made to feel like a sideshow freak by Services Australia in my extensive ordeal of trying to apply for disability support. Turns out in practice my financial circumstances and work history are key to defining me as having a physical disability and they use that as the excuse to deny me any possible support. They have their processes to follow and they are utterly inflexible and certainly not compassionate in any way. Everyone thinks there are support systems in place by law but the reality of how government functions is that the public wording of these support systems is ambiguous and on the surface appear to be sound but when you come to need them the processes don’t often work in practice. There are odd little requirements tacked on and checks made by third parties that contradict public statements made by the politicians. It works to reduce people ever getting access to essential services thus saving money come budget time, plus using third parties they can claim publicly they don’t Means Test people because technically they don’t, its a third party they don’t control.

Upshot is I’m not considered disabled because I don’t pass one of these third party requirements. At no point did any one ever want to meet me or ask me to undergo a medical assessment. Nope, I’m considered not disabled because I failed to be looking for work during the past 18 months via CentreLink, a period during which I was full time employed. So fucking sorry I wasn’t psychic to know I should have been looking for work a year and a half before I was forced into redundancy. No wonder suicide is the only viable option for many people let down by the Australian Government’s support systems. Nor does it surprise me the lack of any form of support by so-called friends and relatives, they all think its someone else’s job to provide support. Reality is there is none at all. Fuck you all.