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Friday, August 12, 2005

A Helpful Letter

Got a letter from Centrelink today:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
- Your Newstart Allowance has been cancelled from 12 July 2005 because we have not received your application for payment form.

- There is still some money you owe to Centrelink. Please call 13 6330 before 16 August 2005 so we can help you with options for repayment.

How nice of them. Next thing you know, you'll have murderers asking your permission before they ... oh, wait. That's happened already...

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got youth allowance during my university degree which, obviously, ended when I finished my degree. Slight problem. I did not go straight from my degree into employment, although I was actively looking for work, so I tried to transfer to the Newstart allowance until I found employment. Simple, right?

Centrelink would not give me youth allowance because I had finished my degree and was no longer eligible because I was no longer a student. But they would not give me Newstart because I didn't have the papers to prove that my degree was finished (it takes three months for graduation papers to be processed)

So ultimately, they would not give me youth allowance because I was no longer a student, but they wouldn't give me Newstart because I could not prove I wasn't a student.

Logic?

I fucking hate bureaucracy.

TimT said...

Oh, they're ever so fun. How about that mutual obligation lark? They give you cash, and in return, you do a series of ill-defined, and usually meaningless, community activities in order to seem responsible? Only, don't make it something that you're actually interested in, or are ALREADY doing, because, hey!, that's cheating! They're not listed on our books!

That sounds like an absolute doddle, what?

Anonymous said...

I don't actually have to worry about that mutual obligation thing because I am on the DSP now, fancy that, an actual disabled person on the DSP. Such a novel concept!

But for my own peace of mind I do some volunteer work around the place, it's just my little way of giving back even though I don't technically have to.

What sort of crap do they actually make you do for mutual obligation stuff? I know friends of mine run a Theatre Company and offer lighting courses for Centrelink recipients, something that could actually be fun...

Tell me more about the Little book they have

A King doddle indeed!

TimT said...

I dunno, when I actually RELIED on Centrelink to survive (that ended about a year ago), I mostly managed to get out of the mutual obligation thingy.

TimT said...

To explain: I sort of fell into volunteer work at various places, but that was volunteer work that I wanted to do. When they started bugging me about mutual obligation, I had a hell of a time persuading them that I actually was doing volunteer work.

Since I've started working in Melbourne, I haven't actually got anything from them, anyway - the last money I got from them was 54 cents!

Anonymous said...

Don't knock 54 cents! You could get a chocolate frog with that!

TimT said...

Excellent point! I think I'll do that now!!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Not sure if this is related to this site or not, but it is worth mentioning ... chocolate coin .

Anonymous said...

But not a Freddo frog-- they are like 80 cents now! When did that happen? And remember the chocolate beetles? I only ever see them from the Melbourne Show showbags now.

And why is a milkyway so expensive now? And Golden Roughs? I remember when they were 50c!

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of bludgers. Get a job why don't you.

Now when I was on the dole in the early 80s, there was none of this work diary mutual obligation crap. You wrote a couple of transparently flimsy looking for work sentences on your dole form, handed it in at the nearest DHSS office and three days the cheque would arrive in yer mailbox and you'd go out and buy pot and cheap champagne.

Thee were lucky lad.

TimT said...

No way, man! Screw you, man! To hell with your 'rules' and 'regulations'. I mean, smoking pot? That's so old school! Get with the program, dude! Screw you, daddyo, I'm going to become a lawyer!

TimT said...

If Scotch Fingers are the King of biscuits, then truly, Freddo Frogs are the King of Chocolates. To hell with all that pretentious Ferrero Rocher crap; just give me a Freddo and watch me cram it down my mouth.

Anonymous said...

I SO feel like a Golden Rough right about now!

Anonymous said...

Whenever I feel like a Golden Rough, I can never bloody find them! Or I find the Peppermint one and that's just yuck.

TimT said...

Putting peppermint in Golden Roughs is so, so wrong.

I was looking for some liquorish today, one of those long delicious black straps that you can eat for ages. All I could find was one of those crappy short, chocolate coated straps.

And how about those Caramello Koalas? They're just like Freddo Frogs, except with Caramel inside them. What's that all about? YOU CAN'T IMPROVE ON PERFECTION, PEOPLE!

I feel a post about this coming on.

Anonymous said...

If you should post said post, I feel a linky and hearty agreement coming on.

Whatever happened to Jolly Ranchers?

Email: timhtrain - at - yahoo.com.au

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