Blakely
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.
Blakely is in her mid-50s and has psychosocial disability. She also has fibromyalgia which can cause a feeling of constant, bone-weary fatigue.
About 10 years ago, Blakely said, her life ‘began to fall apart’. She had been diagnosed with cancer. Days before her surgery, she was tending to her mother’s funeral arrangements. Her husband had just been made redundant at work, and her business was on the verge of collapse.
‘To say that my already fragile mental state of mind was compromised is a massive understatement,’ she told the Royal Commission.
This accumulation of events led to her marriage ending. No longer employed, she was forced onto government benefits. Blakely felt she was just ‘trying to survive’ and unable to ‘take responsibility’ for her actions.
During this time, she was driving to and from medical appointments and ran up a ‘huge’ debt of unpaid road tolls. ‘I couldn't afford [them],’ she said. ‘I also got a fine for driving an unregistered vehicle, I couldn't afford the registration.’
Eventually, Blakely contacted the state fines department. In special circumstances, the administrative authority has the power to grant payment plans or extensions based on a person’s mental health or intellectual disability. In exceptional circumstances – where fines result from out-of-the-ordinary, unavoidable or unexpected events – the authority may write fines off.
Blakely enquired about applying for a payment plan. She also asked the authority to consider cancelling any further interest charges or late penalties, to ‘make the payments more affordable’.
Before the authority would consider Blakely’s application, they asked her to provide evidence of her mental illness.
She provided a copy of her Mental Health Plan, a letter of support from her GP and a list of mitigating reasons that led to her avoiding the fines. ‘Not only was I functioning on limited capacity, but my fractured mind was not making good decisions.’
After supplying all of the information requested, Blakely felt she had been able to prove she was ‘very ill and significantly compromised’.
However, when the administrative authority notified her of their decision, it was not good news. They rejected her application because she had ‘not supplied the requested information’. Blakely didn’t know how to immediately react or respond. She describes feeling trapped ‘in a merry go round of trauma and recurring PTSD’.
Blakely believes the rejection of her case is exploitative and discriminatory. She has urged the agency to hire a disability advocate to help those who may need it.
‘I feel that my disability has not been recognised for my uncharacteristic behaviour and lack of judgment and responsibility’, she says.
Blakely has now returned to the workforce, to a job in the mental health lived experience sector. She understands how mental illness ‘can negatively impact so many aspects of life’.
Blakely hopes that in the future, people with disability ‘will be heard under all circumstances’, and that everyone ‘can have a voice and not simply be invisible’.
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.