My daughter is only 3, I am currently working 30 hours a week, but if I get this job I'm hoping for my hours will increase to 36 hours a week. I am earning too much to get parenting payments, but still have a concession card and am getting maximum FTB. I received a letter from Centrelink saying that I have to attend an appointment with some employment agency and if I don't attend, or I don't have a valid reason for not attending, it says: "your payment may be stopped for a period of time, and it may also result in a participation failure recorded against you". As far as I was aware, a person didn't have to seek work until the youngest is in Prep, and even then it was only a requirement to be working 15 hours a week and I'm working double that now. I got the letter yesterday and it was after 6 when we got home, I've just opened it this morning. I will call them on Tuesday to find out about it but I'm wondering if anyone else has received one of these or knows whey they are sending them out?
It sounds like they've got their wires crossed and are just being heavy-handed. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a phone call sorts it all out, especially given you've been in such regular contact with them.
I hope it all turns out okay. Let us know how it goes!
yyes once your child turn school age you must look for work or do study of some sort .just keep the appointment or ring and say that you are working but always tell the turth as it dose catch up with you.
The whole point is that my child doesn't even start Prep til 2009! And I am working now and reporting my income every fortnight even ringing up once the payslips come in if I haven't worked it out correctly to correct it with them, even if I'm only out by $5. I don't have to do anything for 2 more years, but I am working AND studying and they know this as I have to ring in every fortnight with my earnings and tell them how many hours I've worked and who I have worked for! I can't keep the appointment as I am working that day and cannot afford any more time off. I have house repayments to make. I am always 100% honest with them and every 12 weeks take pay slips up for them to get copies of to prove my income I am at my wit's end with this system!
i know this is a bit aginst the rules but we always over declare and get money back at the end of the financial year... it dosn't make much difference to the pay and provided you have a tried and true budget any changes are suprisingly easy to work around... just thought it might save you ringing up a second time and having to go through all that stupid phonecall...lol... i also report online and it's so much quicker too and easier to keep track of payments and changes... i think there is even a way to corespond with centrelink online through e-mails although i havent tried that yet... hope this helps :)'s
seriously hun, centrelink doesn't care....i have recently had a disagreement with someone from centrelink regarding my payment and i told them what i am doing and about the things i have to pay etc etc and do you know what the lady said to me? she said "everyone has financial commitments like that and they manage to work around it....so you are just a face in the crowd and you will do it too"..... and the more i think about it, the more i realise that she is right!
There are so many families doing it so much more tough and they find a way around it! so seriously....if they can, why can't you and why can't i? hehehe (not being rude so don't take it to heart)
Oh girlfriend dont go there I can write you a novel about centrelink. Get this I was asked what did I think if we can do all those wonderful things like medicare and 100 other things at centrelink and I told them are you joking they cant even do their things properly let alone take over all this other things on top. When I was back paid for my son I asked why did I get so little they didnt know how they came up with the figure (I was under payed by few thousands).
your letter It is probably nothing to worry about they just use that tactic if you dont call us no money sort of thing and they make it sound as if you did something wrong only to find out its just a rutine thing (like when I had to give them my date of birth 4 times because someone wrote it down wrong and every time i rang them up the date was wrong and I had to then go with proof of my date of birth 4 TIMES)
Thanks for the advice. I'm not able to attend as I'm working on that day so I'll call them Tuesday since I'm working all day Monday. I'll ask them what it's about too. I'm not earning enough to lose the concession card and I have to ring in my earnings every fortnight and tell them who I worked for. I'm only just earning too much for parenting payment and still get $50 a fortnight if my pay is down due to illness or a cut in hours that fortnight. They won't take the concession card off me unless I'm earning much more. I'm working, studying, and reporting everything to them and it's still not enough! What do they expect from us mums? Grrrr
I got a very similar letter last week. I rang and ask what its all about and was told just to attend and to up date files. Also told if you had a baby prior to 1st july 2005 You were considered a grandpa/granddad which ment you didnt have to work until the child turned 6 years old. After that date you are requires to do courses or look for work after 18months. Dont know if this will really help you. And i was also told after 21 hours you where not sent to do courses or agencies just had to let centerlink know your hours and they will remove of that list. Just give them a ring and tell them the hours you are doing and they should fix it. You might loose health care card if you are over there bracket but they will advise you on that and if you have special cerc you could still apply for one.
PMSL LOL I think they must have misexplained things or you have misunderstood because i think i am a bit too young to be a grandmum at 19 PMSL and my daughter was born in april of 2005
Thats what i said to the lady on the phone! I asked what did you call me? And she said that is what it is called for mums and dads that had kids in those years no matter how old you are. It just means that if you are in the grandad/ma group of people you didnt have to look for work until child is six. When you ring them ask them about that becuase i would like to know why we are called that even though we are young? Let me know. I found it strange and i did jump down her throat a bit and just didnt really let explain much more after that saying i was old lol.
yer i got one of those when i activated my job seeker number, but i couldnt attend and they didnt do anything... might just be an error that they sent it to you in the first place... they make lotsa those... you dont have to be working till your youngest turns five and thats only if they are attending school. hope this helps :)'s
actually you do have to work or study once child turns five or six REGARDLESS of school attendance otherwise they will take you off the parenting payment and put you on work for the dole....and to be honest, I don't wanna be filling out the dole forms and standing out the front of the centrelink office waiting to hand in my form so i can get paid!
I think she meant that some children start Prep the year they turn 5, but others like my daughter miss the cut-off and is an August birth so she has to wait til the year she turns 6. If they start Prep at 5 you are supposed to work, if they start Prep at 6 that's when you start work/study. Either way my daughter is 3 and I'm working 30 hours a week, what more do they expect? And I haven't got an active Job Seeker card as I have not been out of work unless I quit and I found a new job the same week as applying so I don't understand it.
yes that is what i ment, sorry bit stressed and getting mussed up...lol... also i dont have to work (although i'd love to have 2 days a week, hence the reactivation of the job number) untill my children have finished school (at 16 years old) because they are going to be and are homeschooled. it's probably just a system error... if they cause you hassles tell them to go bug someone who is actually looking for work... me me me! (they wont listen even when ya wanna work and set yourself up to get off the system... crazi huh?)
I don't see why you should have to look for work when you aren't receiving parenting payment but go to the appointment. When they see how many hours you are already working they should leave you alone.
hi i have recived one of those letters your child has to be school age 5 or six yrs i do not know why you have gotten that letter just keep your appointment and do what centerlink say cause i am not the only one a lot of my friends have had the same hope this helps
centrelink generally does a routine thing like this heading up to the end of the financial year.
The bst thing to do is to go in and change your circumstances like living arrangements and employer etc etc so that they can have it on record!
IT's best to be honest, for if you have nothing to hide it can't hurt you!
and when they say about the payment stopped, they will do it until you go in and have an appointment!
I had an appointment made for me just recently and attended so was all good....i do think it's rude that they don't ring and check to see what time is fine by you though!
I ring up every fortnight and tell them my earnings and how many hours i've worked, they give me a receipt number which i write on the calendar on the day i made the call along with my hours/earnings to refer back to. They know I'm studying too cause I took that info into them already. They have everything there. If I stuff up my pay I ring them when I get the payslip which is the Wednesday after we get paid. Makes it easy that the pay period ends on the same Friday I have to ring up and tell them my income, but the pay slip gets sent up the Wednesday after. Sometimes I have to ring up and correct it and I always get the name of the person and the receipt number to write down on the date I called.
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I am at my wit's end with this system!
