Disability Pensioners Living Overseas

[icyfroth]

This was being discussed on the breakfast show this moring:

THOUSANDS of Australian disability pensioners are receiving taxpayers' money to live overseas, many in places best known as holiday destinations.

Australians are paying $100 million a year to fund 7300 recipients of the disability pension living overseas.

Official figures show the greatest number, more than 1200, live in Greece, while hundreds more live in Turkey, Croatia, Thailand and New Zealand.

The Philippines and areas of Indonesia, including 83 people in Bali, are among the other destinations where Australian disability pensioners are living at a cost to the taxpayer of $99.9 million a year, News Corp reports.

Social Service Minister Kevin Andrews has told News Corp he has asked for information clarifying residency requirements for such pensioners, saying he's concerned some pension recipients may be choosing to live overseas for lifestyle reasons at the expense of taxpayers.

The federal government now disallows the pension for those who are overseas for more than six weeks.

From Here

The consensus of callers invited to comment felt that disability pensioners should be living in Australia. That is my opinion also. $100 mil for aussie pensioners living overseas permanently is money that's not going back into the Aus economy.

[go-tazz]

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Message disappeared again,

[fourandsixpants]

yes. mine go 'missing' awl the tyme

[purple_haize]

it is friday, ebay do strange things.

[freshwater-2]

Thank you Lionrose and am3 for answering my questions.

I know a lot more now since I asked them.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@am*3 wrote:
Centrelink's definition of a 'resident'

Australian resident
An Australian resident is a person who is living in Australia and is either:

an Australian citizen
a permanent visa holder, or
a 'protected' Special Category Visa (SCV) holder

Special Category Visa (SCV) holder
People who arrive in Australia on a New Zealand passport are generally issued an SCV on arrival.
SCV holders who arrived in Australia after 26 February 2001 are generally considered to be 'non-protected

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Thanks, so it is not restricted solely to citizens.

cool, makes some of this a bit less confusing.

[izabsmiling]

Perhaps pensions of ALL Australians who live overseas could be indexed to the cost of living where they live while they live OS (to the max they receive here)?

I find it really discriminatory that disabled Australians are singled out

They could have moved to have support of family.........or just simply support in general which isn't here in Australia.It takes strain of a strained system.

Damned if they live here damed if they leave.................

who here kicked up at the NDIS being the cost of a whole cup of coffee?

Our Government wants us to target each other while they please the Gina's of the world .

It's sick!

[*crikey*mate*]

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@purple_haize wrote:

it is friday, ebay do strange things.

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fixed it for ya!

[izabsmiling]

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@bluecat*dancing wrote:

Those of us on DSP should be locked in a little box and never let out.

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bluecat,I hope that I am correct in saying that that is not how the majority of Aussies feel or think

though it can be hard to tell at times on the face of things.

[izabsmiling]

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@bluecat*dancing wrote:

Those of us on DSP should be locked in a little box and never let out.

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Why?

If you're genuinely disabled and living in Aus you have nothing to worry about.

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priceless Icy!

[fourandsixpants]

....and if you're not genuinely disabled and living outside of Australia/overseas.....watch out....... because....????

*PPPPFFFFfttttt!!