This response is from a Brisbane man in his 30s who has been homeless. He has a disability but his DSPDisability Support Pension. The working age payment for people who have been abl... claim was rejected. He has requested that his name be withheld.
Nobody wants a 36 year old man with a dodgy back, it’s soul-crushing to be rejected over and over.
Survey responses
| Which payment do you get from Centrelink? | JobSeeker |
| Do you ever worry about losing your payment? | Yes |
| Provider names | APM, Max Employment |
| Do ‘mutual’ obligations activities make your mental or physical health worse? | Yes |
| Have you been able to access programs or services through a job agency or other provider that helped to improve your physical or mental health? | No |
| Have you ever experienced mistreatment from a provider or other organisation because of activities you were required to do? | Yes, I have been bullied or abused |
| Have you ever had paid work, study commitments or caring duties at the same time as being required to do ‘mutual’ obligations? | Yes, I have had paid work while doing ‘mutual’ obligations; Yes, I have been a student |
| Do you have any paid work? | No |
If you were able to speak directly to the politicians who decide what we need to do to get a Centrelink payment, what would you say to them?
Live my life for 6 months. Then try telling me to wait again.
Do you do any unpaid work?
Trying with every other free moment to get my own business running so I can escape this hell.
Do you want to say anything about your experience with Centrelink or living on payments?
I have a degenerating spinal condition known as Ankylosing Spondylitis. My spine will eventually fuse into a solid, single chunk. Standing and sitting for long periods is horrendous. I live with chronic clinical depression, anxiety disorder, adhd, a stuffed back and I can’t eat anymore because my teeth are shot. I only cling to life out of spite for a government duopoly that hates me. As I type this I have 5 inflamed dental abscesses & I am crying in pain from that and my spine. I don’t qualify for the DSP though. I’m not…”treated and stabilised”…
Do you want to say anything about your experiences of being disabled in the workforce and/or on Centrelink payments?
I wish I was dead daily. Welcome to the living hell that is daily pain & chronic clinical depression on less than half the poverty line. I have often ideated on setting myself on fire in a Centrelink just to spite them. Then I think about the poor Security who’d have to write that up and liaise with the police, having done their job – I worked security at Strathpine CL for over a year. So I don’t. I also no longer have the energy to give a shit about actually doing myself in. What’s the point? They win regardless. I’d only be noted as a budgetary saving in the end.
What effect do ‘mutual’ obligations have on your wellbeing?
Knowing that nobody wants a 36 year old man with a dodgy back, it’s soul-crushing to be rejected over and over. I still have to do it though.
Has a provider ever caused a problem with your payment?
Respondents may select more than one option
- Yes, and my payment was reduced
- Yes, and my payment was late
- Yes, and my payment was suspended
- Yes, but I was able to fix the problem before my payment was affected
What is the worst activity you have had to do?
Sorting semen/excrement/period/urine stained clothing without gloves at a Lifeline.
Do you want to say anything about your experience with your providers?
APM: I’ve been passed around a variety of reps there. Some were good, some were terrible.
Max Employment: Threw out my resume, replaced it with one that made me sound like an idiot. “I can stand, stoop, run, push, pull” So…basic motor functions? What even is this? —————— Terrible, terrible provider. Extremely punitive.
Is there anything you want to add that we didn’t ask you about?
Not particularly. I have no faith in the system any longer. Absolutely none. Nor faith in those in charge. I was a victim of a false debt recovery also. Each day is an exercise in masking. Sure, I’m totally fine. Always.
Placement experience – Work for the Dole
Some offered actual new skills and were worth every second of my presence. Others were clearly time-fillers designed to mooch govt funding.
| Host organisations | Lifeline and one unnamed |
| Do you think the activities you did during the placement were useful or important? | Yes |
| Do you think these activities produced something valuable for the host organisation? | Yes |
| Do you think these activities produced something valuable for the community more broadly? | Yes |
| Did you learn something valuable or gain skills that you think make you more employable? | Yes |
| Did you feel that you were in a safe working environment? | Some of the time. I was involved in a safety incident – the weld flashed, I was taken for medical care promptly. Others – a fellow lied about ability to drive heavy machinery, drove into shed wall, nearly blew myself and project supervisor up (an anything in a large radius) when the acetylene bottle fell. |
| Do you want to say anything about your experience with this placement? | When targeted properly, with staff who give a shit about people and real outcomes, I have no problem with WftD whatsoever. That said, those programs are like hens teeth. Most are just organisations wanting free slave labour for jobs nobody else would even do for pay. |
| Did you enjoy doing Work for the DoleWork for the Dole is a program that applies to people in the mainstream Workforc...? | Sometimes |
| What type of job or activities did you do? | Sorting filthy donations at a Lifeline. If the donation bin had soiled items, the WftD people were put onto it. Without PPE. 2nd Class welder -Ex-Army Engineer teaching welding skills and running a small workshop doing jobs for community groups. |
| Do you think this should have been paid work? | Yes |
| Why should it be paid? | Lifeline – they wouldn’t put proper staff on soiled items. Only the indentured slaves. It was a clear health hazard and would attract shift loadings elsewhere. Welding – After showing proficiency with the process and even an ability to teach others what I had learned? Yeah I should have been paid |
| Did you get a paid job with the host organisation? | No |
Placement experience – volunteering
This was pure, exploitative, indentured servitude.
| Host organisation name | Salvation Army Store |
| Do you think the activities you did during the placement were useful or important? | No |
| Do you think these activities produced something valuable for the host organisation? | Yes |
| Do you think these activities produced something valuable for the community more broadly? | Yes |
| Did you learn something valuable or gain skills that you think make you more employable? | No |
| Did you organise the volunteering placement yourself? | No, the job agency organised the placement but I was involved |
| Did you enjoy doing the volunteering activities? | No |
| Did you participate in volunteering by choice? | No, when I reached the Work for the Dole phase I asked to do volunteering instead to fulfil my Annual Activity Requirement |
| What type of work or activities did you do? | Sorting through soiled clothing items without PPE. |
| Did the volunteering placement help you get a job? | No |
Placement experience – training
Honestly, it was wonderful. I have nothing negative to say about it.
| Training organisation name | University of Queensland |
| Do you think the person or people running the training were appropriately qualified? | Yes |
| Did the training suit your skill level? | Yes |
| Do you think the training activities were useful or important? | Yes |
| Did you learn something valuable from the training that you think makes you more employable? | Yes |
| Was the course with a TAFE or a private training provider? | University |
| Was the training organisation connected to your job agency? | No |
| Did you organise the course yourself? | Yes, I contacted the organisation and arranged the course |
| Did you enjoy the training activities? | Yes |
| Did you participate in training by choice? | Yes, I asked my job agency to put me in a training course even though I didn’t have to |
| What type of training or activities did you do? | I was a condensed Grade 11/12 into 8 months. For people who needed another go at an OP/TER |
| Did the training you received help you get a job? | No |
| What do you think is the quality of the training you received? | High |
Employment services survey
The Punishment for Profit report is based on hundreds of responses to surveys conducted by the Antipoverty Centre. This research is ongoing. If you are in Workforce Australia, Disability Employment Services or a similar program, we welcome any information you are able to share about your experiences.