Thread by @antipovertycent

Today's witness will be Mzia* (pseudonym)

She will speak about her experiences as a trainer at AimBig, but also as a former DES participant. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

https://twitter.com/kristin8X/status/1496256093097701376

"In 2020 to 2021 only 13.4% of the ~410,000 people in DES had sustained employment for 6 months." – Ronald Sackville, Chair

#DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Low labour force participation has been stagnant for 20 years.

Governments have failed us again and again, and DES should never have been allowed to continue in its current form as long as it has. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Despite having a masters, Dominic from @NEDA_PeakBody wasn’t placed in roles that suited him, but was placed in a job washing dishes in a Mexican restaurant. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Senior Council assisting says evidence given said the DES program contributed to structural barriers to employment, rather than overcoming them. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

“Providers are incentivised to put disabled people employment, regardless of how sustainable it is” – Senior Counsel Assisting

#DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

*Counsel

The @DRC_AU SC describes the largest cohort of people in DES being 25–34.

Disabled people under 35 on the Disability Support Pension have ‘mutual’ obligations, even though getting on the DSP means the government has recognised your high barriers to work. Absurd and monstrous.

SC just said “DES providers have experience supporting people with disability” … would LOVE to see the evidence of that! #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

“Current system of payments to providers means there is very little incentive to keep people employment … there is a smaller payment if the person stays in a job for 52 weeks.” – @inclusionoz CEO Catherine in hearing 9 #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Evidence from @ANDisability said mutual obligations are part of the problem. @DRC_AU also heard that parking and creaming is being used to categorise people and churning people, maximising outcomes for providers. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

“DES participants wanted providers to help them.” – that says it all. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Evidence from @YDASvic coming up, covering issues facing young people with disability.

SC describing the experience of Mzia: “The BusyBeans training program happened to be run by her AimBig employment services provider” – this isn’t by chance. It’s a rort and a joke. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

“She thought AimBig would support her and help her work towards her goals” – SC on Mzia #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

AimBig referred participants to a related entity they set up, which received $110,000 in wage subsidies, and that employees were terminated around the time they expired. Shame.

#DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Mija and Simon from @YDASvic are up now.

@YDASvic "I think they were trying to get me off their books as fast as possible and churn through their clients." – Mija from @YDASvic #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic Simon from @YDASvic: Person A has an intellectual disability. He was being moved from DES to DES to DES. He was placed in inappropriate jobs. He was being churned. Providers don't understand what to do with them. It leads to disempowerment, disillusion, exhaustion. #DisabilityRC

@YDASvic People working in DES generally don't have adequate training or understanding of disabilities and their caseloads are too high. These are not jobs that people who have other options generally want to take. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

https://twitter.com/PWDAustralia/status/1496285421680340992?s=20&t=imI4BITLa3cJIV9CKN0e8g

@YDASvic Mijya from @YDASvic: young people don't get information on their rights, meaning they're at risk of wage theft, there are safety risks & at the point where supports are cut off sometimes there hasn't been sufficient time to identify issues. there hasn't been a time to settle in.

@YDASvic A person in DES had this harrowing experience with a wage subsidy job. #AWFTD #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Share your experience with 'mutual' obligations here: antipovertycentre.org/campaign/awftd/

@YDASvic "I want to be able to recommend DES to our clients, but I can’t." – Simon from @YDASvic at @DRC_AU

#DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

"If you do have a good worker in that system, they're getting ground down" – Simon from @YDASvic #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

https://twitter.com/antipovertycent/status/1496288395471241220?s=20&t=_GJY-XHds1Rts7FDLUJxUQ

@YDASvic "We see and hear disillusionment, disempowerment, exhaustion, anger. If you can't find a job you're at high risk of poverty, of homelessness. People just want to work and they're not being given the opportunity." – Mija from @YDASvic

#DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic The @DRC_AU Senior Counsel: Could DES be reformed?

In our view, no. Our submission with @PWDAustralia to the DES review says DES must be replaced with a desegregated, highly specialised & customisable, voluntary employment services system. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia On quotas: We believe that quotas for people with disability working in DES is important, but it's crucial the system itself is supportive, creates appropriate and adaptable jobs, and viable career paths for disabled employees. @YDASvic holds a similar position. #DisabilityRC

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia The @DRC_AU Chair asks whether non-profits are better than for profit providers.

In our experience, no. We hear horror stories from all types of providers. Incentives, social security law, the entire structure of the system & politicians who rule it is the problem. #DisabilityRC

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia We are now about to hear from Mzia (pseudonym)

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia Mzia's experience is a common theme. Diagnosis of neurodivergent disabilities in adulthood after a life of difficulty and derailment. We are so grateful to Mzia for her willingness to advocate and share her experience and expertise. #DisabilityRC

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia "connection with customers is the highlight of your day. they can come in and you can make them smile, and if you're having a bad day they can make you smile" – Mzia #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia "I thought the job coach would be able to understand my ADHD and help me with my goal of having a permanent full-time job and a career." _ Mzia #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia Mzia explained that she wasn't just looking for a basic job. That she wanted to get off Centrelink and have a permanent job. – @DRC_AU Senior Counsel #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia The job offer came from AimBig, but the contract was from another company, and Mzia was confused about who the employer with, and still is. – @KateHumanRights

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia @KateHumanRights Now the chair is confused, along with Mzia. Cool corporate structure!

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia @KateHumanRights After getting the job, Mzia was asked to sign a job plan saying the job agency caseworker had found the job. Mzia thought she'd found the job herself. But she signed it anyway (note: cos what the hell else can you do in that situation?) #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia @KateHumanRights On Day 1, Mzia was shown a home coffee machine & longlife milk. She pointed out they needed proper equipment, basic items they didn't have. The manager had gift vouchers for a petrol station so told her to buy milk with her own money and be "paid back". Shame. #DisabilityRC

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia @KateHumanRights "I did everything I could to make it work." – Mzia

@KateHumanRights said she had to apply for an advance on her FTB payment so she could afford to buy the milk. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia @KateHumanRights Now @KateHumanRights is reading out an extremely long list of high level series of duties that the employer says she has.

Would absolutely love to know who much they were paying Mzia if those were their expectations of her. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia @KateHumanRights Mzia was given the job of assessing other people on AimBig's caseload for their suitability for the training program she was employed to run. The general manager at AimBig who would make the decision despite working for a different company. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia @KateHumanRights Mzia was pressured into putting people in the program, which in her view was because they wanted to meet their KPIs.

There needs to be an independent investigation into AimBig alone, and who knows how many others. @ANAO_Australia should be watching along today. #DisabilityRC

@YDASvic @DRC_AU @PWDAustralia @KateHumanRights @ANAO_Australia AimBig did a lot of media to advertise the program, and Mzia thought the ads were different to what would happen. There weren't enough people working in the offices to make coffee for. People would be stuck in the office 5 hours a day 3 days a week doing nothing. #DisabilityRC

Mzia was coerced into promoting the program with false advertising. People asked her about their pay, which wasn't her job. She asked what award participants were being paid under.

This is devastating & Mzia is sticking with it despite clearly feeling distress ❤️✊ #DisabilityRC

Representatives of AimBig have intervened to try and silence @KateHumanRights who is simply recounting the testimony recorded in Mzia's statement. No shame. #DisabilityRC

@KateHumanRights So the AimBig lawyers are now attempting to bully Mzia with threatening "gotcha" questions that aren't actually gotcha questions during her testimony. What the fuck. #DisabilityRC

@KateHumanRights The "cafe" Mzia was required to train and serve people in. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@KateHumanRights Mzia was being bullied into signing job plans and passed around between different employees of AimBig & its related entities. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

@KateHumanRights Mzia says it was very hard having a job coach who also wanted to place people in the BusyBeans program she was running, and it was a conflict of interest. She said they were also co-workers, another reason it was in appropriate. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Mzia, at the point when they added more trainers to the program, was working more than 30hrs a week & they gave her a RAISE to $29 an hour because she'd now be managing others. These wages are a joke even for the work she was doing before. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Mzia's requests for support to pursue her career goals in IT were ignored by her caseworker. Her requests for a clear job description also ignored. This company destroyed her from every direction to the point where she was unfit for work. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Put Mzia in charge of designing disability employment services. She's a true expert.

#DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Mzia resigned from her job. And didn't know they would also remove her from DES. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

Mzia's life and ability to work is still affected by this experience. She is unfit for work and has lost her trust in in employers. #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

"It's not only impacted me, it's impacted my kids." – Mzia

"I do not want anyone with disability to experience a failed system." – Mzia

Writing these comments cannot convey the power of Mzia's words.

"You've heard it for years, how bad the system is. Start making the change. Listen to people with disability." – Mzia #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations

"Each [government] department wants me to fit in a certain box. But they don't talk to each other. They don't work together. The focused must be switched to be focused on a person. A real person with a name." – Mzia #DisabilityRC #AbolishMutualObligations