Feeling Worried About Applying For Carer Payment/Allowance & Future & Being Disabled Myself

[MintyGoblin]

Hey everyone,

It's my first time posting on here, but I thought I'd be brave and reach out to see if others have had similar experiences or even advice.

So I'm nearing the end of study date for my current course, and I don't think I have any allowable time left to stay on Youth Allowance for my next year of study, which means I'll need to go onto Jobseeker. And with my current mental health and other factors, I'm not even sure I can keep pushing myself to study anymore.

I am disabled myself (Anxiety, Autism, ADHD, Migraines, and suspected PMDD), and have been my disabled partner's unofficial carer for over 14 months while I have been studying online. I am in the midst of making a claim for Carer's Payment and Allowance for the daily care I provide my partner, and I only need the medical report from their doctor now, which we'll be getting on Wednesday, and then I'll be submitting my claim.

I just can't help but worry that either the claim won't be processed on time, and I'll have to navigate Jobseeker, or I'll be outright rejected. I know I should probably try to apply for DSP/NDIS for myself, which I have slowly been exploring with a social worker, but I worry that I'm not "disabled enough" or that they can't comprehend a disabled person being a carer for their disabled partner. It's just very stressful. I honestly feel foolish for not making a claim sooner, but I just never thought about it because I love my partner and want to take care of them, as they really struggle to care for themselves.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? 

Thank you for reading

[Croix]

Dear MintyGoblin~

Welcome here to the Forum, a good place to get other people's ideas. You are doing an amazing job, being the carer of your partner, being handed by life a great many difficult conditions, and yet still try to study.

May I ask if you have discussed these problems with your partner?

I guess the answer is one thing at a time. If the carer's allowance can be done quickly then that 's out the way. It does not mean you are ineligible for and other benefit, if fact it may work in your favor that you are in permanent circumstances that do not help your condition.

Applying for NDIS/DSP can be an expensive and drawn out process, hopefully before you start you will have the assistance, not only of your medical team, but also someone who knows how applications work and is knowledgeable how to put the right information in the right box.

As you have already invested time and effort to get your studies as far as you have and are in doubt if you can carry on at the moment can I suggest you consider a medical deferment without penalty? Then if you feel you are able to return you will not have lost anything except to remind yourself of the studies you had been doing.

If you would like to come back and say how things go that would be great

Croix

[Eagle Ray]

Hello Minty Goblin (I love that name) and wave to Croix,

I was in a sort of similar situation so I can relate to your post. I had been a carer or family members until they died in 2016 and 2020 respectively. I was also trying to complete studies at the same time. Despite being very close to the end, I just couldn't complete the studies. I've had migraines and fibromyalgia since I was 13, and I have suspected ADHD and autism, though have not been formally diagnosed. I had to go on Jobseeker from 2021 and then I applied for the DSP last year and I received it. The conditions I applied on the basis of were my diagnoses of an autoimmune liver disease, fibromyalgia, migraines, complex PTSD, anxiety and depression. I suspect I also had PMDD for years and I have had a really horrendous time in perimenopause, which is fortunately getting towards the end now. So I really feel for you with what you are going through which is so much when you are a carer as well. 

I think you have a legitimate case to apply for the DSP and possibly NDIS as well. With the DSP, the main thing is demonstrating that your daily functioning is impacted in a way that prevents you working more than 15 hours a week. This assessment is done via the impairment tables which you may already be aware of if you have looked into it. In my case, I had reports from my GP and psychologist, and Centrelink already had a verification of medical condition form from my liver specialist. I had also been with a disability employment agency which provided a job capacity report as well. Do you have a psychiatrist or psychologist who can write a report for you in relation to the autism, ADHD and anxiety? The PMDD can also really impact your mental health as well, so would also be valid in that regard as well as being a physical health condition. You would need a report from your GP as well, which can be an overview of everything.

I have not applied for NDIS, so I cannot give advice on it. I am considering it myself at the moment because I have a further discovery this year that I have a dissociative condition, either OSDD or, increasingly, it seems now DID. It's a covert disorder and has taken me all of my 50 years of life to realise I have it with it becoming more overt and obvious in the last 6 months. It's probably been the most continuously disabling thing I've been dealing with my entire life, but I had no idea I had it. I cannot afford the very regular recommended therapy for the condition and NDIS is the only way I can see I can really do that. If I do end up applying, and I learn anything useful about the process, I can come back and share it with you here.

Hopefully you will be accepted, but I know with the DSP, even if you are not accepted on the first go, you can appeal the decision. You can also choose to wait for a period of time and then reapply. So it is not the end of the road if it is rejected, but I realise it's very disappointing if that happens. I know the DSP and NDIS are two different kinds of things - the DSP is more about work capacity, and the NDIS is more about getting help with social and daily functioning. One is a living allowance, and the other is about improving quality of life. In terms of your basic survival needs, the DSP might be the most necessary to begin with. The fact you have a social worker working with you now would help with the DSP and is evidence that you are currently in need of support. I do hope with the Carer's payment that it is processed soon. As Croix suggests, please feel free to come back and let us know how you go.

All the very best,

Eagle Ray