Wheelchair bound man cut off Disability Pension - Australia

This is the human face of Abbott's review of those under 35 on the Disability Support Pension. He has been cut off the pension and put on the unsurvivable Newstart unemployment benefit. He can now no longer even afford to rent his wheelchair. 

As the ultimate insult, despite the professional judgement of his doctor that he was "unemployable", Centrelink in it's Centrelink wisdom has usurped that decision and decided that he actually is employable.

Welcome to Abbott's cruel Australia. 

Centrelink has cancelled Mr Terrasi’s pension despite his doctor advising that “in his current condition, he is unemployable”. 

“I am at serious loss to understand how Stephen does not qualify for the disability pension,” the doctor wrote on Mr Terrasi’s medical certificate. 

“On a bad day he is unable to leave the house 

“As a result of his seizures he is not able to drive. 

“His conditions varies a lot from day to day and so he would be completely unreliable in a job setting. 

“He was in hospital for six weeks last year because of his condition with no change to his condition or improvements.”

The doctor said Mr Terrasi was not able to walk more than 100m with a walking stick on a good day. 

Centrelink reviewed Mr Terrasi’s case last year after new legislation changed the assessment criteria and told him his pension would be cancelled. 

He appealed against the decision and it has been reviewed twice without success. 

Without his $890 fortnightly pension, Mr Terrasi cannot afford to rent his wheelchair. 

Keystone College – where he now studies – is trying to raise $600 to buy him the wheelchair he can no longer afford. more