Gisele
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.
Gisele is in her 30s and lives with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and physical disability. She receives the Disability Support Pension and, because she is studying, a mobility allowance.
A few months ago, Centrelink warned Gisele her mobility allowance would be cancelled unless she ‘provided some updated information’.
‘I did that well and truly in advance and it ended up that the mobility allowance was taken from me despite that.’
Gisele has spent hours on the phone trying to rectify the problem and feels Centrelink has ‘a poor way of handling things’. They keep telling her that her case has been ‘marked priority’, yet she’s still waiting.
‘It’s been months now. They know that there’s an error on their end. And they have agreed that they will reinstate the payment and backdate it.’
Nobody will give her timeframe or explain the delays.
‘There’s no accountability … and no apology even. And in the meantime, I’m functioning without that payment. Which is grossly unfair.’
Gisele says ‘it’s not an isolated experience’ in her dealings with disability services.
Currently she’s ‘having a really difficult time’ accessing the NDIS because it’s ‘still very much geared for physical disability’. For complex PTSD, Gisele said, ‘the whole process … is generally really unfair’. The NDIS initially ruled her out ‘capacity wise’.
‘Because I presented very articulate. And so a whole bunch of assumptions come with that. I’ve been outright denied access to the service, because I don’t fit the stereotype,’ Gisele said.
‘The actual process itself retraumatises people. And it’s disgraceful. It shouldn’t be like that. Just from the get go, like just to access the service is really difficult and really deterring.’
Now she has ‘an organisation who specifically deals with the psychosocial applications’ helping her.
‘They’re very aware of what the NDIS require. Now I’m being coached in how to have a disability. I wouldn’t be able to access NDIS on my own. There’s just no way that I could go through the application process.’
Gisele’s efforts ‘to engage with disability support services she’s entitled to’ have all been ‘so overwhelmingly un-positive’.
‘Really difficult to access medical care, really difficult to access housing, really difficult to access even – even counselling and things like that.’
That’s led to social isolation and has been very detrimental.
‘It’s exacerbated my mental health … affected by finances, my relationships … Like I’ve had a nervous breakdown. I’m no longer working. My whole life has been disrupted.’
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.