Department fought to deny disability pension to woman in chronic pain

Natasha Thomson accrued a $5,000 credit card debt while living on $277 a week from Newstart

The Department of Social Services tried to prevent a woman who lives in pain “pretty much 24/7” from accessing the disability support pension, arguing she was fit for work because she volunteered at a children’s hospital.

But in a rare win for an applicant living with chronic pain, Natasha Thomson was granted access to the $450 a week payment after a two-year battle that ended up at the top level of the administrative appeal tribunal.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2GphW31