Thread: anyone work at centelink

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Well, a few I can think of :-

Telstra/Telecom, many thousands of staff since the late 1980's and ongoing.
The entire Commonwealth Dept. of Works.
The entire Commonwealth Employment Service
Thousands in DSS/Centrelink under the Howard and Costelloe regime to the point where the place became such an unattractive proposition that thousands of staff that didn't get put off left anyway.
Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service
Repatriation/Veterans Affairs hospitals
Civilian employees in naval dockyards and a number of dockyards closed down.
Australian Defence Industries


No doubt others will recall many more. Then there are the state governments who have slashed and burned.

Well there ya go...I learnt something.....thanks Brian. I have always had the impression that a public servants job was pretty safe compared to the commerical world...then read an article after reading this that Rudd gov is looking to slash 35000 jobs . Commercial or government....am glad I work for myself, that way I can't be sacked , just have SWMBO on my back when there's a dry spell,

Regards

Stevo

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Diana, I worked there for 8 1/2 years prior to retirement. I was a Senior Field OIfficer running two specific project teams investigating fraud and misrepresentation immediately before retirement. Fraud is widespread. ................

Brian

Don't get me wrong fraud is a huge problem and most of the surfers, drug dealers, taxi drivers and prostitutes consider it their right for the government to pay their rent for them.

However and it is a big however, not everyone who comes through the front door is a crook or scum and so the counter staff have no right to treat everyone as if they are.

I had the opportunity of taking a holiday after completing a work contract and using the savings to pay for it. Then when I was ready to return to work I looked around, found a job and the weekend before starting day I had the misfortune to brake my leg in a waterskiing accident. Can't walk can't cant start work as a Registered Nurse. My savings had been spent so I applied for sickness benefits, then there's waiting periods then they have to investigate why I hadn't worked for so many months. All the while I was having to eat and pay commercial rent, by the end of the degradation in the Centrelink office I was almost unemployable and yet before I received dollar one from sickness benefits, my leg had healed sufficiently for me to work.

Why would I a double certificated Registered Nurse/Midwife with a Science Degree want to be on sickness benefits if I where able to work.

The system is all wrong, if criminals can get multiple benefits and genuine people get treated like scum.

Originally Posted by rovercare

Wrong 4 letter name starting with M

My apologies!

Originally Posted by Shonky

My apologies!

You should know its M for Myron ,

Regards

Stevo

I visit Centrelink at Noarlunga (SA) from time to time and since they have moved to a new building it is actually a pleasant visit, for me at least.

In the old building everyone seemed to be in the one very long queue but now they have different queues depending what you want to see them about. I no longer have to stay in line with:

rude, smelly, drunk, drugged, foul mouthed, abusive

etc. people. I use the word 'people' but I'm not really sure they all are - animals more like it some of them.

Any how... I have nothing but praise for the people who work there.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Why would I a double certificated Registered Nurse/Midwife with a Science Degree want to be on sickness benefits if I where able to work.

Therein lies your problem, wrong career.
The career welfare recipients have no problems, only the genuine people

Originally Posted by stevo68

You should know its M for Myron ,

Regards

Stevo

One to many letters



Myra?

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Brian

Don't get me wrong fraud is a huge problem and most of the surfers, drug dealers, taxi drivers and prostitutes consider it their right for the government to pay their rent for them.

However and it is a big however, not everyone who comes through the front door is a crook or scum and so the counter staff have no right to treat everyone as if they are.

I had the opportunity of taking a holiday after completing a work contract and using the savings to pay for it. Then when I was ready to return to work I looked around, found a job and the weekend before starting day I had the misfortune to brake my leg in a waterskiing accident. Can't walk can't cant start work as a Registered Nurse. My savings had been spent so I applied for sickness benefits, then there's waiting periods then they have to investigate why I hadn't worked for so many months. All the while I was having to eat and pay commercial rent, by the end of the degradation in the Centrelink office I was almost unemployable and yet before I received dollar one from sickness benefits, my leg had healed sufficiently for me to work.

Why would I a double certificated Registered Nurse/Midwife with a Science Degree want to be on sickness benefits if I where able to work.

The system is all wrong, if criminals can get multiple benefits and genuine people get treated like scum.

Diana, I assume this happened some time ago. If so, then to receive Sickness Allowance you had to show a loss of income. The maximum allowance that could be paid was either the maximum rate or the loss of income, whichever was lesser. if you did not have an income, then the assessor would be wondering why you were applying for an allowance as you had been supporting yourself from your own resources, and naturally would be thinking no income equals no allowance. In your case the loss of income would be the notional loss of income from the job you never started. All this has to be confirmed. Your new non-employer would have had to confirm in writing that you were about to start and would have had a job and income if not for your disability.

The limit of loss of income used to catch out the self-employed smarties whose artful accountants had reduced their taxable income to a pittance. This pittance is what they would be paid as Sickness Allowance.