Liesl and Terry
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Liesl is in her 20s and has an intellectual disability that affects her speech, motor skills and memory. Terry is her father and primary carer.
‘She's been labelled with global dyspraxia,’ Terry told the Royal Commission. ‘Basically, it's like a permanent head injury but it's from birth. It impacts on her daily functioning and capacity for everyday life including work.’
Liesl is on a Disability Support Pension and has worked at a supermarket through the supported wage system for eight years. She is paid based on her productivity.
‘But there's a limit on how much they can reduce her pay … And it never affects her pension,’ Terry explained.
Terry says the system has it shortfalls. As her nominated advocate, he has ‘to prove’ that Liesl is disabled every four years.
‘There's like this ongoing rollercoaster.’
A few years ago, there was a change in policy and Centrelink wrote to Terry saying it wanted Liesl to ‘start reporting her income every two weeks’.
‘It also stated if I didn't contact them, they would stop her disability pension.’
Terry made contact.
‘I flagged to the lady that [Liesl] doesn't have the capacity to do that. You know, she wouldn’t even know how much she gets paid … She would have no understanding.’
Terry said Centrelink refused to recognise that Liesl could not meet the new reporting requirements. It insisted that she had ‘a mutual obligation because of her pension payment’.
Terry pointed out that Liesl had been exempt from that for years.
‘[The Centrelink officer] said, well it had all been done wrong … this whole time.’
Terry reluctantly ‘agreed to go along with it’ so Liesl wouldn’t lose her pension, which would be ‘catastrophic’. She ‘would no longer be able to purchase food or cover the costs of her accommodation’.
Terry has been trying ever since to get the agency to tweak the ‘absurd’ rules that discriminate against Liesl and ‘a plethora of people who are disabled’.
He feels the current policy is a disincentive for people with intellectual disability to work.
‘It gets too hard to actually do that, because it creates more work for the carer or the parent.’
Terry says this barrier to work is threatening Liesl’s livelihood and happiness.
‘This is the whole idea of getting her a job – because it's integral to her capacity to enjoy working, like she's doing what everybody else does.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.