Anonymous

Submission is related to being a business owner, on Centrelink job seeker because Im not earning enough to eat and fuel and having ASD, Clinical Depression, Anxiety disorder while needing to meet the job seeker obligations, labouring bits of work in my IT business and my it business just needing more supported time to get business up and running. A lot of aggregating circumstances that could be improved so I can focus on my small business that can support me, I would like to see Job Seeker include ability to run a business and regular reporting and if potential then getting support needed to succeed. Attached submission. Just first name I provided, please only use first name in public listing.

I would like to submit that I was suffering from clinical depression and got tested by a
Centrelink Psychologist and put on the Disability stream of Employment Services.
It’s not as different from normal services.

I was recently diagnosed with ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder by my clinical psychologist
and will need to go on NDIS.
I’ve already had to juggle trying to get my own business going, while dealing with clinical
depression, anxiety disorder but also since childhood undiagnosed ASD till it got worse now
partly due to lockdowns. Permanent worsening and it was identified by a few people.
Now I’m faced with the prospect of needing to find work while trying to focus on getting my
business up and running. I am passionate about my business but just need longer than the 9
months that I was helped 2 years ago under NEIS scheme under Jobs department. How can
I develop an IT business in 9 months? But I can’t find any work, overqualified.
All I need is to be given an option to keep growing my business with extra help and financial
support. I can then get it growing. With ASD and Depression and Anxiety disorder I’m stuck
with “back of office” setups for 2 years and now the pressure of mandatory employment
search and I can’t do more than 24 hours due to anxiety, depression and ASD.
Can you please consider having a program that assesses viability of my business and if
potential then supporting me with training, back of office support, interpersonal training and
home care which I struggle to help me succeed in the business. I’m a high functioning ASD
person similar to Elon, just need extra support to handle social and home care and other
areas.
I live alone and have no one to help me with home stuff which I struggle with but when it
comes to advanced subjects like science, physics, art, engineering and information
technology I can handle advanced levels. At all school levels I was top of class. I just need
help with life’s stress levels to focus on what I can do. At the moment I have to battle
between labour work under my business, my own IT business work and the requirement of
Centrelink to look for work.
Regardless of what each political party says they support, it’s important to identify and
support disabled people starting a business, not force them to look for work and run their
business and scrounge for everything. And the stress builds up. It made my ASD and clinical
depression worse permanently and also because of Lockdowns isolated all alone for 2
years.
Please consider this “hole” I’ve fallen into and include an option to run a business for
disabled people and that could mean physical disability too. Principle is the same. People
with physical disability can also run their own business.
This needs to be done ASAP.
I don’t know how much longer I can cope.
It will be devastating if I have to stop my business which I developed and almost at self
sustaining capacity.