The partnership between FCVic and Social Security Rights Victoria (SSRV), the Integrated Services Project (ISP), aims to improve client outcomes through financial counsellors and social security lawyers working together more effectively.
To close out the year, instead of the usual information-dense Integrated Services Project update, this month we are introducing you to the team behind all that information; meet Graeme and Eloise from SSRV!
Graeme Parsons (Financial Counsellor)
What led you to a career in social security rights work?
I’m a Financial Counsellor with a generalist background, following a career in finance & education. I hadn’t thought about a more specialist role but was aware of Social Security Rights Victoria and was intrigued by the Integrated Services Project when it was first launched. As practitioners, we are frequently drawn into the orbit of other services and often tempted to get involved, so it has been rewarding to see the specialised knowledge and legal process from the inside and to see that different services can complement one another to the same end.
What is a unique aspect of your role, or the area you work in?
My role tends to focus on how we can best support a client who has already engaged with the SSRV service. This might be in supporting a claim for review or appeal, requesting practical assistance from Centrelink in information or in repayments, as well as simply reviewing how they are placed beyond the scope of their Centrelink issue. There is limited casework with other creditors, but the same opportunity to look at the broader scope of a client’s circumstances and provide guidance about how to create a sustainable life, both with or without Centrelink.
What is a positive change you’ve seen occur recently?
The community lawyers in our team see professional development in other disciplines as a special opportunity to inform and extend knowledge. The recent sessions with FCVic members have really highlighted the value of client experiences in fleshing out the law and providing an understanding of the real-life impacts and applications. Knowing that this then prompts a fresh awareness of our service, and the use of our Worker Help Line service ensures that both services build their abilities to perform their roles to the best effect.
What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing your work right now?
The nature of engagement with Services Australia remains one largely characterised by confrontation, where the complexities and vulnerabilities of clients are ignored or understated. Unlike relations between many commercial creditors and financial counsellors, where such challenges are acknowledged and can find their way towards fair solutions, there is still considerable work to be done. The coordinated communications of financial counsellors and lawyers, such as through SSRV, have certainly added to our capacity to build an appreciation of each client’s capacity and to advocate in a way that ensures they are heard.
Do you have a great piece of advice or resource to share with our readers?
Like in a lot of areas as financial counsellors, lawyers don’t always have immediate answers or solutions to hand. Armed with information and a client story, often supplied by a passionate and client-focussed financial counsellor however, they will apply principles and processes that allow for a clearer path, both for the client and for financial counselling practitioners who can continue to work with them on the other challenges in their lives.
Eloise Cox (Community Lawyer)
What led you to a career in social security rights work?
I always wanted to use my law degree to help disadvantaged people achieve positive outcomes in their lives and in their communities. I have volunteered at community legal centres and worked previously as a community lawyer in family violence, tenancy, and employment law.
I was initially interested in social security rights because I had observed how a client’s inability to receive adequate income support can have a resounding impact on all aspects of their life including their housing stability, their health, welfare, and their relationships.
Social Security Rights Victoria (SSRV) has a vision for a fair and just society in which all people receive guaranteed adequate income in order to enjoy a decent standard of living, and this is a vision that I share and that influences my work.
What is a unique aspect of your role, or the area you work in?
I work in the Integrated Services Project, which has been implemented by SSRV in partnership with FCVIc since 2019. The objective of the ISP project is to design, implement and evaluate a service that brings together social security law experts and financial counsellors to provide a holistic service to clients.
A unique part of the role is that I work closely with the financial counsellor at SSRV, Graeme Parsons, and I often work with other financial counsellors who work externally from SSRV. This cross-discipline approach is unique and allows our service to achieve better outcomes for clients.
What is a positive change you’ve seen occur recently?
I think there is a greater focus on integrated service delivery across the community legal sector at large. It is more common now for all practitioners to consider what referrals both internal to their organisation and external may be appropriate, and how they can assist the client holistically.
What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing your work right now?
A current challenge is our ability to effectively communicate with Centrelink when we are advocating for our clients. Clients often report that they are unable to reach Centrelink over the phone at practical times of the day, that they find speaking to Centrelink exacerbates their stress or mental health conditions, or that they are unclear about what to discuss with Centrelink.
I believe establishing a phone line that is specifically for advocates to use for vulnerable clients will be of great benefit to both our clients and Services Australia as it can assist to clarify the issues in contention and achieve more streamlined outcomes, which in turn helps to avoid lengthy and protracted dealings with Centrelink.
Do you have a great piece of advice or resource to share with our readers?
One thing to always remember is that if a client receives a decision from Centrelink to cancel, suspend, reject, or otherwise change their payment, they have 13 weeks to seek a review in order to preserve their right to backpay.
If they are outside of this 13-week period they can still lodge a review, however, they will only be able to claim back payment from the date they lodged their application for review and not the date that Centrelink made the original decision.
Decision makers at all levels (internal to Centrelink and at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal) do not have any discretion when applying this law, so it is important to remember this as it can mean a client loses their right to backpay!
The SSRV worker helpline offers free specialist information on social security law and Centrelink to workers, including financial counsellors. You can call the worker helpline on 0419 793 652 for support when you are working with a client, or to inquire about making a warm referral.
Keep in touch
We are active on the FCVic ‘Centrelink Working Group’ where financial counsellors, community advocates and social security lawyers meet to discuss policy concerns, trends in casework and challenges/successful outcomes. You can join through the FCVic membership portal or by emailing [email protected]
SSRV is now producing a regular newsletter. If you aren’t already receiving it, you can subscribe using the link at the bottom of our website. We regularly post news and other updates. You can also follow up on Facebook.
Website: https://www.ssrv.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SSRVlaw
Email: [email protected]
General Enquiries : 03 9481 0299
Worker Help Line: 03 9481 0655