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The complainant, who was seeking a $36,000 payment, says his work as a carer – for which he received a Centrelink carer benefit – is “work” as defined by the policy and that the former insurer and former trustee made the wrong decision to decline his claim.
He says his claimed condition of cardiomyopathy prevents him from working and that he had an employment arrangement with the person he was caring for.
Under the arrangement he carried out specific domestic duties and worked between 30 to 40 hours a week and on this basis, he was “gainfully working” because he received reward or payment for his work in the form of a carer’s payment from Centrelink.
But the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) says the evidence does not support his claim. The ombudsman says, “objectively construed”, the Centrelink benefit is paid in recognition of the fact that a person is restricted in maintaining employment because of their caring responsibilities.