Welcome to Australia — and destitution
By Lisa Macdonald
The hardship caused by the two-year waiting period for social security payments has been especially severe because of the government's tighter guidelines for special benefits.
The special benefit is a small discretionary payment intended to alleviate immediate financial hardship. The government's new guidelines, however, require a new migrant to have "suffered a substantial change of circumstances beyond [their] control" before they are eligible even to apply for special benefits.
According to the Welfare Rights Centre in Sydney, both the Department of Social Security and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal are interpreting this to mean that the change in circumstances must happen after the person arrives in Australia.
This means that when a new migrant, unable to find work or having lost their job, and forced to pay market rent and the full cost of transport, health and welfare services, uses up all their savings, special benefits are not available because their destitution is due to not bringing sufficient funds into Australia!
Yet most migrants arrive in Australia under the family reunion program with minimal funds. Even if they are not poor when they begin the process of migration, after paying all the Australian government's application fees, they quickly become so.
On top of their fare to Australia, every applicant must pay a non-refundable Medicare levy of $924 for each person, including children; an English language/education levy if their language skills are "less than functional" of at least $2200 per person over 18 years; and a general entry application fee of $2000.
Only the wealthiest migrants can then expect to be able to sustain themselves through periods of unemployment.
As the two-year wait and special benefit guidelines are being applied, however, ambiguities are being revealed. According to the WRC, many people who have been refused social security payments are in fact eligible. It is advising all new migrants who have been refused any regular or special benefit payments to lodge a new application, appeal the decision if it is rejected and "be persistent".
For more information or assistance, contact the Welfare Rights Centre at (02) 9211 5300 (or 1 800 226 028 outside Sydney).