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So I'm currently on the hunt for a new job. In order to do that, I am now getting some extra support from an employment agency. I DO NOT qualify for welfare payments (My partner makes way too much), so this is all voluntary. Now here comes the explanation:
When you are signed up onto unemployment benefits over here, you are required to also register yourself with a job search agency. The agencies vary, but the idea is that you are meant to get agencies within your local area. There are agencies out there for people with disabilities (I do count due to my psychiatric issues in this instance) and in this instance, I found an agency that specifically handles mental illness and a couple of other disadvantaged categories (namely people who don't speak a lot of English, ATSI* people and people who are struggling to find a job due to their age). I will call them Agency A.
So I go and meet with Agency A and all is fine and dandy...except that I then need to go to the welfare office for an interview with them. The reason why? They get government funding for their services and need to know what, exactly, I need in terms of assistance and support. Off I trundle to the welfare office, I have my interview with them, I'm classed as "low-level disability support" (meaning I can access a bundle of services, but I get less support than say, someone with more severe disabilities, but I get more support than someone who does not have a disability and has been unemployed as long as I have). They say they'll send a report through to Agency A so I can actually start seeing them.
Then I get a call on Friday and it turns out that the welfare office has my OLD address on file.
Luckily I was in the area (I had planned on attending an appointment with Agency A originally) and fixed that up pretty quickly. Then it turns out that for some reason, my address got flagged in their system and I wound up being sent to Agency B instead. 
Luckily, Agency A told me what to say and told me to be persistent because I was voluntary and not linked to a payment, so I wasn't obliged to see Agency B because the welfare office had said as such. I rang Agency B and they very quickly took me off the list. (this was easier than my experiences back home, where it took them THREE MONTHS to take me off their list, luckily the welfare office had me listed as no longer needing to see them) I then had to call Agency A AGAIN to get my appointment set up and after a few missed back-and-forths (I called him, he was busy, he called me, I was sleeping/eating/taking a dump), his colleague set up an appointment for me...only for it to be a temporary one because he can't confirm anything until I'm in the system.
Have I also mentioned I'm applying for government jobs since the application process is more consistent?
*-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. The latter group are a group of people located on a group of islands in the far north region of Queensland. They have their own language and culture, but some of it has similarities to Aboriginal culture.
When you are signed up onto unemployment benefits over here, you are required to also register yourself with a job search agency. The agencies vary, but the idea is that you are meant to get agencies within your local area. There are agencies out there for people with disabilities (I do count due to my psychiatric issues in this instance) and in this instance, I found an agency that specifically handles mental illness and a couple of other disadvantaged categories (namely people who don't speak a lot of English, ATSI* people and people who are struggling to find a job due to their age). I will call them Agency A.
So I go and meet with Agency A and all is fine and dandy...except that I then need to go to the welfare office for an interview with them. The reason why? They get government funding for their services and need to know what, exactly, I need in terms of assistance and support. Off I trundle to the welfare office, I have my interview with them, I'm classed as "low-level disability support" (meaning I can access a bundle of services, but I get less support than say, someone with more severe disabilities, but I get more support than someone who does not have a disability and has been unemployed as long as I have). They say they'll send a report through to Agency A so I can actually start seeing them.
Then I get a call on Friday and it turns out that the welfare office has my OLD address on file.
Luckily I was in the area (I had planned on attending an appointment with Agency A originally) and fixed that up pretty quickly. Then it turns out that for some reason, my address got flagged in their system and I wound up being sent to Agency B instead. Luckily, Agency A told me what to say and told me to be persistent because I was voluntary and not linked to a payment, so I wasn't obliged to see Agency B because the welfare office had said as such. I rang Agency B and they very quickly took me off the list. (this was easier than my experiences back home, where it took them THREE MONTHS to take me off their list, luckily the welfare office had me listed as no longer needing to see them) I then had to call Agency A AGAIN to get my appointment set up and after a few missed back-and-forths (I called him, he was busy, he called me, I was sleeping/eating/taking a dump), his colleague set up an appointment for me...only for it to be a temporary one because he can't confirm anything until I'm in the system.
Have I also mentioned I'm applying for government jobs since the application process is more consistent?
*-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. The latter group are a group of people located on a group of islands in the far north region of Queensland. They have their own language and culture, but some of it has similarities to Aboriginal culture.
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