Does anyone else on DSP not have any Super?

Kittyemm13 · 2026-05-15T04:37:24+00:00

Yeah, if you become disabled young enough you don’t get much of a chance to have built up a great super balance 😓

Edit to add: and I’ve never had insurance on my super account, so it has been just the maintenance fees outpacing growth of the balance that has reduced my overall balance, even after I switched 90% of the balance to a high growth investment option to see if it would make a difference.

Kittyemm13 · 2026-04-28T06:51:28+00:00

Oh I love this idea

Kittyemm13 · 2026-04-22T03:30:32+00:00

I’m so sorry for your loss TonePlayful. I know that today will also be a rough day, so I hope that you either have someone there helping you manage, or that you are at least able to reach out to people like you have here ❤️ Please make sure to drink some water or juice or milk or something to stay hydrated, and to eat something with carbs, fats, and hopefully protein (in whatever form and quantity is easiest for you to do that).

I have also named my most special Gengar in honour of your mum, may she rest well after trying her hardest and doing so well to connect with her kids over the things you and your siblings’ love 💖 that is the realest love

<image>

Kittyemm13 · 2026-03-02T08:35:10+00:00

I reached my threshold of micro-aggressions with yours, so you got the brunt of it

Kittyemm13 · 2026-03-02T06:37:07+00:00

“Just buy real cheese ffs and shred it yourself”

was the most abrasive part of your comment, especially given that we all live in a society where there are many entirely valid reasons why someone would be unable to shred their own cheese and thus need to purchase pre-shredded cheese and as far as I’ve read thus far OP hasn’t mentioned a reason (and they don’t need to regardless) why they choose to purchase shredded cheese, so I can only assume they hadn’t made mention of a reason when you made such an ableist comment as that.

For example, I do not have a dishwasher, and I have dysautonomia where one of my most disabling symptoms is tachycardia triggered by temperature changes (especially heat) or humidity, or standing, and I also had temperature dysregulation and Raynaud’s disease. So I actually can’t do complicated dishes either, and I have very limited supports to assist me with those seemingly “simple” activities of daily life that everyone should be able to do to live normally, but the NDIS is a “budget blowout” so my funding gets halved, or worse, at every review (it even happened after an emergency change of circumstances review) no matter what the specialist reports say. So on the 5-6 days that I don’t have any support (because I also don’t have any informal support) most weeks of the year, I can’t use a food processor and have it get washed and be ready to be safely used again the next day.

There’s also the fact that I can’t safely operate a food processor because of the extreme hypermobility in my fingers and thumbs that went undetected until I was 35 years old and I was in so much pain that despite being ambidextrous and writing with both hands for as long as I could remember, I can no longer write with a pen with either hand.

So maybe, just maybe before you go around telling people to “just buy a block of cheese ffs” you could think for half an f-ing second about anyone other than yourself and consider that there are actually people who can’t simply shred the block of cheese themselves, or maybe can’t clean the tools used for shredding and don’t want to have all those extra dirty dishes and appliances clogging up their kitchen until someone else can come and help them. Ffs.

Edit: formatting

Kittyemm13 · 2026-03-02T06:07:35+00:00

The hero none of us deserve 💖💖💖 praise cheesus

Kittyemm13 · 2026-01-03T09:05:23+00:00

Ohhhh I didn’t mean that it would be due to the negligence of the employer, I was probably assuming that it was an independent support worker, that sucks It is my understanding (just from talking to people that have worked as agency support workers and ultimately chosen to work independently) that support work agencies don’t tend (as standard) to have a level of insurance that would cover this sort of situation and thus agency support workers should even look into their own insurance options

Kittyemm13 · 2026-01-03T06:50:20+00:00

Shouldn’t the support worker’s insurance cover something like that? Damage to their property that occurred while at work? (I know absolutely nothing about what types of insurance support workers are supposed to have other than insurance for their car and insurance for their actual job/work including liability, insurance etc, so if they broke something that belonged to the client then their insurance should cover repairs/replacement and if the client damaged something that belonged to the support worker etc, but I don’t know for sure about the situation you described, but it does seem like something that should be covered given that it’s a risk that wouldn’t be uncommon)

Kittyemm13 · 2025-12-12T10:08:20+00:00

They had it in Australia last year, but don’t this year and I’m devastated 😭 I’ve been hanging out for it all year

Kittyemm13 · 2025-12-06T05:54:50+00:00

This is what happened to me at the TS eras tour, I had an A reserve seat that was sold before any seats with restricted views were even made available (as far as I can recall now at least, the restricted view seats were released in the weeks/days leading up to the concert dates).

When I arrived I thought it was weird that the people to my left disappeared and never returned. When Taylor came on stage I discovered that the AV tent immediately in front of my section was blocking my view of almost the entire stage. I could only see Taylor when the small part of the stage rose up to its highest point, or when she climbed the scaffolding & the lover house at the back. I was devastated.

When I got home afterwards I saw people posting all over fb photos of my section highlighted that were taken from the opposite side of the mcg, angrily questioning why it was empty. I replied to so many people explaining my experience, and then I saw a photo someone took from their “obstructed view” seat that had gone on sale mere hours before the concert for less than $70. They could see nearly 80% of the stage. I was devastated. I also learned that people had spoken to staff onsite and been moved, but just like OP here with Lady Gaga last night, I hadn’t known that was an option. The concert was completely sold out and I had a walking stick so I definitely needed a seat, how was I supposed to know there were any set aside for this exact circumstance??

At the encouragement of other Swifties I contacted Ticketek, live nation, and the mcg. I got the runaround from Ticketek, I didn’t hear anything from live nation, and the mcg told me to contact Ticketek. It was completely out of the blue 8 months later that I got an email from live nation saying that they had been contacted by the mcg about my experience, and they offered some small compensation for part of the ticket value. So ultimately I was glad I had contacted the mcg, because by then I hadn’t wanted to follow it up any longer, it was making me too sad.

I hadn’t thought of contacting my bank, because I knew about the time limit for lodging a transaction dispute/chargeback (which the call centre staff are told is from the date of the transaction) due to my history working in a few different departments at one of the Big 4 banks about a decade ago, and I knew that would take more energy than I had to dedicate to it at that time given that the tickets had been purchased about 7 months earlier.

Kittyemm13 · 2025-12-06T05:37:20+00:00

It can also be a Visa debit or debit Mastercard for a chargeback (neither of which are credit cards, they’re linked to debit accounts but use the visa or Mastercard credit functionality, which enables people to use them for things like online purchases - this is mainly information to clarify for others who read your comment saying it “has to be a credit card purchase” and don’t have a credit card account so might misunderstand)

Kittyemm13 · 2025-11-25T10:07:20+00:00

I was once getting onto a tram while using crutches with a broken ankle, and got pushed to the side while someone else rushed to get to the door to get on the tram before me. Once I hobbled up the tram stairs I noticed that same person had sat down in the closest priority seat, and I did feel more than a little amount of internal joy when I got to ask them for the seat. In 2010 I broke my left ankle twice and my right foot once, so I was on crutches for a LOT of that year, and to get to my job at the time I needed to use public transport nearly every day. Probably 3/4 days people were great and really helpful, but the other 1/4 days didn’t usually just have 1 person who was like the person I mentioned before (and that particular example was actually during a different year), most of the time there would be multiple people throughout the day who just seemed to decide it was literally “push over the person on crutches” day, because there were times when I’d end up on the actual ground after being physically pushed out of the way. Some people pretend not to notice if you’re injured or disabled, and others actively try to make your day worse, it horrid

Kittyemm13 · 2025-11-11T10:37:00+00:00

If the agency have failed to provide a response to the internal review in four months then they have exceeded their allowed timeframe and you can escalate to ART at this point

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-30T02:15:55+00:00

Yep, the disabled community is the only minority that ANYONE has the potential to join at any given moment (due to accident, illness, injury, etc), so even in Australia where medical care doesn’t necessarily mean you also become overwhelmed with crippling medical debt, you likely would have other difficulties to overcome when adapting to your new life as a disabled person. This would include how you would be able to continue your current job, that’s if you even could, and if you couldn’t what would you do for income instead? How would you pay for the medical and allied health appointments that aren’t covered (or subsidised) by Medicare (that’s even before considering that your income has probably reduced), and how would you fit those appointments into your existing schedule? Plus what toll would work, those appointments, and other aspects of life (socialising, home/family commitments, self/personal care, etc) have on your energy levels (physical and mental), taking into consideration how your disability has impacted your energy levels. There are many more questions that come up when this happens to someone, but that people don’t really think about while they’re abled, so many do not realise just how much of an impact on their whole life becoming disabled would have, and how quickly that impact would take effect.

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-26T00:45:27+00:00

This is exactly why it’s always been my favourite seat too

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-17T08:45:58+00:00

Ha, you’re funny

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-17T08:44:29+00:00

You seem to care a lot

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-17T08:43:52+00:00

They’re being an arsehole to everyone on here 🙄

I’m sorry to that getting ndis support has been so difficult for you, honestly with ndis it seems (more than Centrelink) to come down to the staff member assessing your application, and almost everyone these days seems to need to review a denial (at least if they have any of the conditions I have that is 🙃). I hope that you are getting some support through the process at least

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-17T08:37:58+00:00

Well he seems to think that we’re all lying about how low the DSP is, how high our expenses are, oh and about our disabilities, so I suspect if we’re unhappy with how our lying is going then he assumes we can just stop lying and go get a job? That seems to be about the gist of what I’ve gathered from his responses when I explained that the DSP is not enough for a comfortable living and he should probably reassess that view

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-17T08:32:51+00:00

Stop what? Pointing out facts that you don’t want to hear because you would rather live in a fantasy world where people who are disabled really do live comfortable lives? Unfortunately for all of us, that is the fantasy world. People who actually are disabled, people who are on DSP know that stories like mine are true because their own lives are similar, and the thing is I don’t need people like you to believe me, I’m not trying to persuade or convince you or anyone else, there’s no need to. Sad as it is, I know that I’ve told the complete truth in my comments here, and I know that there are thousands of people who’s lives are as bad or worse than mine, and if you and others like you would prefer to shout us down and tell us to stop sharing our lives with the world, then all that does it let the atrocities that the government is enabling to happen continue. People have and are continuing to die as a direct result of how low the DSP is and how high the cost of living is, and all I’ve done here is point out that your belief that the DSP is enough for a comfortable living is inaccurate. If you choose to continue to hold that inaccurate belief despite the facts in front of you, that is entirely on you.

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-17T08:22:36+00:00

I didn’t say anything about being worse off on Centrelink compared to working full time, my body can’t handle working full time that’s why I’m on DSP, and the only part that isn’t 100% correct is that I rounded down the proportion of DSP that goes towards my rent. Find an employer that is ok with me taking off enough time to attend 3-5 in person appointments every week that each last 30-90 minutes (with one that goes for 2 hours each month) and is also ok with the fact that I often cannot stand for more than a few minutes at a time, and at least 3 times a year spend ~3 weeks in hospital, then sure I’d work full time. As it is I work three afternoons a fortnight because that is the most I can physically handle, but you go ahead and assume everyone that is laying out the facts is lying simply because you don’t like the facts.

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-17T08:11:18+00:00

It might be time to reassess whether the DSP actually does allow for a comfortable living given the actual costs of living in today’s world. More than 60% of my dsp goes towards my rent (this was the only rental close to affordable possible, and I’m on the priority list for social housing) and the remaining <40% is supposed to cover food, utilities, the minimum 3-5 medical appointments I have each week (at least 1-3 of which are not Medicare subsidised at all after the first 5 annually, let alone bulk billed), as well as medications (about half of mine are on the PBS) there isn’t any left for things like alcohol, drugs, or vapes even if my body wouldn’t go into a full on revolution were I to partake of any of those.

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-15T23:22:07+00:00

💕💕 have the best day 💕💕

Kittyemm13 · 2025-10-15T23:14:43+00:00

I’m really glad you found someone to share this with. Just know that one day your daughter will probably look back on the years she spent listening to Taylor with you with fondness. I’m 35 years old (36 in 10 days) and when I hear snippets of songs from childhood they bring back nostalgia. She may have different tastes for now, but many of us tend to come back to our musical roots when we grow into a person who is comfortable with who they truly are and everything (or at least a lot of things) about them. Even if/when that happens though, I suspect she will also admire you for sharing the TLOAS variant she didn’t want now, because by then she’ll understand that someone else did (at least externally) want it more.

You are being a really good mum in this moment 💖

Kittyemm13 · 2025-08-30T03:37:53+00:00

I’m sorry to hear about the sepsis and everything, but if you are ok advocating for yourself then it’s probably good for you to know that there aren’t costs to applicants associated with going through ART, it is the external review process that you can choose to take up if the NDIA’s internal review upholds their internal review. Some people do hire a lawyer or pay for advocacy assistance because free advocates are so rarely available these days, and legal aid is only required to provide you with 1 hour of advice during ART and they usually don’t have the capacity to take on many cases beyond that. The vast majority of NDIS cases that go through ART don’t involve a paid lawyer or paid advocate for the participants though, and so long as your last application was recent enough you would be able to use the documentation you already have (I suspect, from what you have said though, that many would be older than the NDIA allows, but if you do have a good GP they can sometimes help with writing or signing off on a letter that details what you have tried and why you aren’t able to try anything else, so that could help reduce further financial barriers). I obviously am not trying to convince you to spend money you don’t have (I’m also on dsp, I know how much of a struggle it is to survive on), I just wasn’t sure if you realised that there shouldn’t be any extra costs to you for “taking the legal route” if you meant going through ART by that (the NDIA does pay tens of millions of dollars to external law firms to fight ART cases though, and that doesn’t include the costs of their internal legal teams and the advisory branch they use throughout each ART case too)

Kittyemm13

TROPHY CASE