In a world where we often take for granted the safety nets designed to catch us during our most challenging times, the story of a 35-year-old father from the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, served as a stark reminder that sometimes the system fails those it's meant to protect.

His plight is not just a personal tragedy but a glaring example of the gaps and flaws within our social support mechanisms.

Despite his efforts to access critical assistance, he fell through the cracks, highlighting the urgent need for reform in providing help to those in need.

Brendan Smith is battling end-stage kidney failure, a life-threatening condition that his lifelong struggle with type-1 diabetes has exacerbated.

Diagnosed only last year after a gradual two-year decline in health, Brendan now relies on daily dialysis to keep him alive as he awaits a double kidney-pancreas transplant.

Brendan Smith, a 35-year-old father with end-stage kidney failure, has been deemed ineligible for Centrelink assistance due to policy technicalities. Credit: GoFundMe

But his woes don't end there. Last year, while working as a security guard, Brendan survived a near-fatal stabbing and a car crash, leaving him with severe PTSD, a shattered pelvis, and a ruptured tendon.

These injuries have rendered him unable to return to his previous job.

Despite the severity of his condition and the apparent inability to work, Brendan has found himself ineligible for Centrelink's Disability Support payments.

His life-saving dialysis is considered 'ongoing treatment,' and under current regulations, those receiving ongoing medical treatment do not qualify for disability assistance.

This technicality has left Brendan and his family in a dire financial situation.

His cousin, Emily King, has expressed frustration and disbelief at the system's failure to recognise Brendan's need for help.

'It's infuriating to see that able-bodied people can access disability payments, yet someone like Brendan, who is fighting for his life every day, falls through the cracks,' she said.

Brendan receives minimal worker compensation payments, barely covering his mortgage and leaving him with a meagre $60 weekly.

The situation is even more heart-wrenching considering Brendan's role as a single father, striving to support his daughter amidst overwhelming health challenges.

The financial strain is immense, and the constant uncertainty is a heavy burden for any parent.

Before his health took a turn for the worse, Brendan was known for his generosity and charitable spirit.

Locals recall his random acts of kindness, such as paying for the fast food orders of those behind him or leaving substantial tips for wait staff.

Now, after years of giving, the community is rallying around him, showing their support through donations and heartfelt messages of gratitude.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help Brendan cope with his mounting expenses, and the response has been a testament to the impact he's had on those around him.

'It's shown me I don't ever expect to get anything back—but it does come back,' Brendan reflected.

Brendan's resilience is nothing short of remarkable. Despite the numerous challenges he's faced, including losing vision in one eye due to diabetes, his humour and determination remain intact.

His doctors have even half-jokingly suggested that he might be indestructible, given his ability to endure so much.

As Brendan holds on to hope for a dual transplant that could significantly extend his life, his story raises critical questions about the adequacy of our social support systems.

How can a man dedicated to serving others be left without the help he desperately needs?

It's a sobering reminder that the system, designed to help, is not infallible.

The Department of Social Services has been contacted for comment. As we await their response, we are reminded of the importance of community and the need for compassion and advocacy for those who fall through the cracks.

Brendan's story is not just his own; it reflects the struggles faced by many Australians battling against a system that should be there to support them.

Key Takeaways

• Brendan Smith, a 35-year-old father with end-stage kidney failure and other severe health conditions, is ineligible for Centrelink assistance due to policy technicalities.
• He is unable to work due to his health issues and the injuries sustained from a near-fatal stabbing and a car crash, yet he cannot access Disability Support payments or JobSeeker benefits.
• His situation highlighted a systemic issue where those with life-threatening and severe chronic conditions may not qualify for governmental support under current regulations.
• A GoFundMe has been initiated to help Mr Smith manage his financial burdens, including his mortgage and medical treatments.

Have you or someone you know faced similar challenges with the social support system? How can we improve the system to ensure no one is left behind? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

 

[Rickcb63]

Unfortunately social services have a crack the size of a major earthquake !
I wish him well

 

[Jest]

BOY SCOUT MESSAGE always be prepared. and please stop with these begging as begging is it subjects. Not much one can do as we all have our own cross to bare.

 

[Nels]

Social services in Australia do not care about our own People. There is so many on benefits that should not be. We can afford to bring in refugees and house them in a five star hotel in Sydney with everything paid for yet we can’t look after our own.

Agree percent.

 

[Jest]

Agree percent.

well hopefully you will know who not to NOT vote for.

 

[relljube]

I know of some immigrants in a certain suburb of Sydney that get a dsp just for a slight cough and they're in their mid teens (not wanting to work when they can get a dsp). They go to their a doctor of their own nationality who just hands out the forms to them so they get a dsp. This is so sad as I think a lot of these doctors should be looked into and the people seeking a dsp should be screened.

Why do you not dob in the doctors and the recipients to Services and DSP

 

[Suzanne rose]

Job seeker payments are for those actively seeking a job. Obviously this man is in no position to find a job. Can you think of an employer who would take him on in his present condition? And who knows how long it will take to get a transplant. And even after a transplant it takes time to recover. His family/friends should approach their local member of parliament and ask them to help

It also acts like a sickness benefit. Then after being on it for awhile they may transfer him to dsp.
I went through horrific illness due to negligent surgery. Then suffered and still suffer with depression and anxiety.
I loss have my stomach and in pain still now.
I had to go through all that , handing in doctor certificates. I then saw a centrelink doctor and psychiatric doctor. I was then approved for dsp.

 

[Lynnne]

They would have suggested job seekers which is a bit less than dsp. You just need to give in a doctors certificate which used to last 3 months but I think that has now changed to 2 years.
They look at long term and permanent illness to receive dsp. I think it's because it's on going and when he receives the transplant his life is likely to be normal.

I know it sounds bad but they need to have guidelines and one of those is that the illness is diagnosed, treated and stable.

He needs to apply for jobseeker and get a medical certificate,

I was thinking hiw come he's not on jobseeker.

 

[Cheezil]

Makes my blood boil to think about all the genuine people who can't access NDIS/disability support when badly needed most whilst so many others rort the system & go without nothing, or new immigrants being eligible for services, funding, medical help, housing etc without any problems at all!
So unfair these times (victims of all kinds & good honest people get nothing, criminals get protection, scammers & rorters get off scott free & cruise thru life with self entitlement)

 

[deni67]

I know of some immigrants in a certain suburb of Sydney that get a dsp just for a slight cough and they're in their mid teens (not wanting to work when they can get a dsp). They go to their a doctor of their own nationality who just hands out the forms to them so they get a dsp. This is so sad as I think a lot of these doctors should be looked into and the people seeking a dsp should be screened.

I don't believe that for a second!

 

[Macarj]

My brother lost the ability to walk due to no messages from the brain not getting to his legs he has been trying to get on ndis for 10 years 2 doctors and a lawyer have represented him to get on NDIS still wont accept him he is wheel chair bound He was finally given a new unit for wheel chair users and only $130 a week instead of $400 a week in private rent it has made life a lot better for him

 

[Vinylted]

I wonder if there is any way he can withdraw some of his super as financial difficulties or ongoing health issues. He's not getting Govt. benefits which means he gets no reduction on Govt. rates & taxes+ things like electricity, gas, possibly medications unless he has been given a low income health care card. I think the Dr's opinion / comment is inappropriate and should nt have been included in this article.

At aged 30 or so he would have very little super stacked up, not enough to be useful I'd say. More people ought to make sure that they are organ donors in case of accidents. Get on the register folks. I'm sure he'd not mind 50+ year old kidneys if it meant living again!

 

[magpie1]

I don't believe that for a second

I don't know....it could happen with Doctors who have migrated perhaps....then helping out some of their own patients....very risky thing to do of course, but wouldn't totally surprise me if it was proved correct.

 

[Suzanne rose]

ok my daughter showed me another article on this, it was posted on the daily mail UK
It appears he was in a car accident and was paid a compensation payout, which is the real reason he wasn't given a centrelink payment.

The article that was posted by sdc is sponsored by gofund me.

My daughter who is a nurse said if he needed a double kidney transplant ( very rare) and he was at end of life he would have absolutely no colour. In the picture his colour is normal.

Also the tubes you see coming from under his hoody is actually his ear phones for his phone.

Someone who has kidney failure as he is supposed to have wouldnt have his own clothes on and his happy cousin would need a mask and gown to prevent him catching infections

He isn't hooked up to any machines at all

There is absolutely nothing on his or his cousins social media.

If he was in dire need centrelink would give him a payment of jobseeker and wouldnt need to look for work.
He would also receive around $300 for each child through family tax benefits

There is definitely more to this story

 

[relljube]

ok my daughter showed me another article on this, it was posted on the daily mail UK
It appears he was in a car accident and was paid a compensation payout, which is the real reason he wasn't given a centrelink payment.

The article that was posted by sdc is sponsored by gofund me.

My daughter who is a nurse said if he needed a double kidney transplant ( very rare) and he was at end of life he would have absolutely no colour. In the picture his colour is normal.

Also the tubes you see coming from under his hoody is actually his ear phones for his phone.

Someone who has kidney failure as he is supposed to have wouldnt have his own clothes on and his happy cousin would need a mask and gown to prevent him catching infections

He isn't hooked up to any machines at all

There is absolutely nothing on his or his cousins social media.

If he was in dire need centrelink would give him a payment of jobseeker and wouldnt need to look for work.
He would also receive around $300 for each child through family tax benefits

There is definitely more to this story

Seriously - if this is proven right there is only 1 word - bastards! Should the police be notified for attempted fraud?

 

[Dukas]

When I worked for Social Security in a previous life, Brendan may have been entitled to receive Sickness Benefit (later named Sickness Allowance) or possibly Special Benefit on grounds of hardship. The level of Compensation payments, if any, would have bearing on this as well, possibly precluding it.
The Liberal Government under Scott Morrison abolished Sickness Allowance during the years of Robodebt. Lovely. Special Benefit criteria are hugely restrictive these days and it is not payable to Australian citizens over the age of 16 but maybe to a child under 16! Effectively abolished for almost everybody!
Many people who should receive DSP actually die before their claims are approved. There is also a massive backlog of unprocessed claims. In the old days, such claims had to be finalised within 3 months or so. Statutory time frames were enshrined in law for all benefits. This has completely fallen by the wayside and DSP claims take an inordinately long time to finalise. This is monstrously harsh on people who are among the most vulnerable in the community because of ill health and, frankly, it is unacceptable for a so-called civilised society like Australia's.

 

[deni67]

When I worked for Social Security in a previous life, Brendan may have been entitled to receive Sickness Benefit (later named Sickness Allowance) or possibly Special Benefit on grounds of hardship. The level of Compensation payments, if any, would have bearing on this as well, possibly precluding it.
The Liberal Government under Scott Morrison abolished Sickness Allowance during the years of Robodebt. Lovely. Special Benefit criteria are hugely restrictive these days and it is not payable to Australian citizens over the age of 16 but maybe to a child under 16! Effectively abolished for almost everybody!
Many people who should receive DSP actually die before their claims are approved. There is also a massive backlog of unprocessed claims. In the old days, such claims had to be finalised within 3 months or so. Statutory time frames were enshrined in law for all benefits. This has completely fallen by the wayside and DSP claims take an inordinately long time to finalise. This is monstrously harsh on people who are among the most vulnerable in the community because of ill health and, frankly, it is unacceptable for a so-called civilised society like Australia's.

The system to get onto DSP is like the American system now and that sucks big time, having to get lawyers involved and several kinds of doctors who could charge you through the roof is so unaustralian.
When I got mine it was in 2003 and pretty easy, it was obvious I had disibilities so Centrelinks doctor signed me up.
Then when my partner got on his in 2006, all his doctors had to do was mention the mental health card and they were throwing it at him.
We were, and still are, go grateful to be on it, I don't know what we would do if we had to jump through financial hoops to get it.

 

[Catherines]

ok my daughter showed me another article on this, it was posted on the daily mail UK
It appears he was in a car accident and was paid a compensation payout, which is the real reason he wasn't given a centrelink payment.

The article that was posted by sdc is sponsored by gofund me.

My daughter who is a nurse said if he needed a double kidney transplant ( very rare) and he was at end of life he would have absolutely no colour. In the picture his colour is normal.

Also the tubes you see coming from under his hoody is actually his ear phones for his phone.

Someone who has kidney failure as he is supposed to have wouldnt have his own clothes on and his happy cousin would need a mask and gown to prevent him catching infections

He isn't hooked up to any machines at all

There is absolutely nothing on his or his cousins social media.

If he was in dire need centrelink would give him a payment of jobseeker and wouldnt need to look for work.
He would also receive around $300 for each child through family tax benefits

There is definitely more to this story

Seems you might have an argument there, Suzanne rose. I re-visited the article and enlarged the picture quite a bit. I too thought his colour looked quite normal and his face is not sallow and drawn as would probably be the case in an end of life patient, but I feel the ‘tubes coming from under his hoodie’ (the cream ones) look like they are actually the tie cords for his hoodie, but the black one looks like it is a music cord for his phone or computer (you can make out the volume control section). No mask on her, no tubes etc attached to him & no breathing tubes?! All of that looks sus.

There is even a laptop (partially in the picture) a computer mouse and mobile phone. If they are hers why are they on the table (normally used by a patient mostly for their food) positioned over his bed? Who do they all belong to? If this is all a scam, then she’s blown it by posting a picture. Might have been easier for them to scam some go fund me money if no picture was posted. The hospital equipment possibly means she’s a nurse there. Why does she look so happy? This becomes more questionable now.

But there are also a lot more questions and answers required from our government when it comes to refusals for genuine cases of all kinds. I don’t want to totally refute the info in the article but there is a lot more to it.

 

[relljube]

Seems you might have an argument there, Suzanne rose. I re-visited the article and enlarged the picture quite a bit. I too thought his colour looked quite normal and his face is not sallow and drawn as would probably be the case in an end of life patient, but I feel the ‘tubes coming from under his hoodie’ (the cream ones) look like they are actually the tie cords for his hoodie, but the black one looks like it is a music cord for his phone or computer (you can make out the volume control section). No mask on her, no tubes etc attached to him & no breathing tubes?! All of that looks sus.

There is even a laptop (partially in the picture) a computer mouse and mobile phone. If they are hers why are they on the table (normally used by a patient mostly for their food) positioned over his bed? Who do they all belong to? If this is all a scam, then she’s blown it by posting a picture. Might have been easier for them to scam some go fund me money if no picture was posted. The hospital equipment possibly means she’s a nurse there. Why does she look so happy? This becomes more questionable now.

But there are also a lot more questions and answers required from our government when it comes to refusals for genuine cases of all kinds. I don’t want to totally refute the info in the article but there is a lot more to it.

I picked up on that too - the black chord is definitely from the phone sitting on the table & ties for the hoodie laying on his chest - who wears a hoodie in bed in hospital - if he was cold, the hospital has warmed blankets for patients. Very suss all round.

 

[youngoldlady]

They would have suggested job seekers which is a bit less than dsp. You just need to give in a doctors certificate which used to last 3 months but I think that has now changed to 2 years.
They look at long term and permanent illness to receive dsp. I think it's because it's on going and when he receives the transplant his life is likely to be normal.

I know it sounds bad but they need to have guidelines and one of those is that the illness is diagnosed, treated and stable.

He needs to apply for jobseeker and get a medical certificate,

I think he can not get Job seeker as he is getting compo and this stops you getting government help. My husband was in this situation years ago. Lucky I was getting money as his wife for low income to help with our children.

 

[Suzanne rose]

I think he can not get Job seeker as he is getting compo and this stops you getting government help. My husband was in this situation years ago. Lucky I was getting money as his wife for low income to help with our children.

His compensation ammount would have been High if centrelink said he couldn't get a payment.
He could still get a payment for his kids.
If your compensation payment is too high then you shouldn't get a payment