It’s really easy for Aussies to fudge a bludge

The DSP applies to those unable to work for at least 15 hours a week at the ­minimum wage for the next two years. Source: ThinkStock
AN army of bludgers are using online “step by step” guides to con doctors into ­giving them disability support pensions (DSP), a Daily Telegraph ­investigation has found.
On the sites, would-be ­rorters give each other tips on exactly what to ask a doctor and coach them on how to ­respond to their questions.
The sites also provide form letters to slip to doctors and warn against such things as volunteer work — suggesting that doing so is basically­ “cutting your own throat”.
There are 832,533 Australians receiving the pension, with DSP-administered outlay for 2014-15 estimated at almost $17 billion a year. The maximum payment for a single person is $776 a ­fortnight.
Suggestions for getting on the DSP include: “If you have to wait in a queue either sit on the floor or grab yourself a chair to sit on.”
Another suggests getting a two-year treatment plan to present in case of a government review.
And another forum user suggests saying “I’m not ­feeling well, I am experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations. I tried working at Target in customer service but I ­started talking to myself in public and was seeing things that were not there and as a ­result I was unable to perform my job.”
The website forums The Daily Telegraph has quoted from are run by ACON, the National Welfare Rights Network, notcrazy.net and boredofstudies.net.

There are 832,533 Australians receiving the pension, with DSP-administered outlay for 2014-15 estimated at almost $17 billion a year

“The emphasis of the ­Centrelink ‘reviewer’ is to focus on your ‘ability to work’ rather than your ‘disability’. In the interviews they ask about what you can do rather than what you can’t do,’’ one said. “If you do a bit of volunteer work, a bit of study, do some part-time work, you cut your own throat.’’
Social services minister Kevin Andrews has reined in some of the rorting over the past 12 months and has ­introduced a “sophisticated fraud system” to detect able-bodied people illegally on benefits. From July this year compulsory work-focused activities for DSP recipients under 35 was introduced to get more back in the ­workforce.
“The government takes swift action where and when it is identified that a person has received a payment unlawfully and where they were not ­entitled,’’ a spokeswoman for Mr Andrews said last night.
“The government also relies on the advice of medical ­specialists to ensure DSP claims are legitimate and has a sophisticated system to ­identify false applicants.”
The DSP applies to those unable to work for at least 15 hours a week at the ­minimum wage for the next two years. Western Sydney residents make up one of the highest proportions of DSP recipients in Australia.
Originally published as It’s really easy for Aussies to fudge a bludge
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