The 28-Day Constraint: How DSP Rules Undermine the Right to Global Movement (Article 18)
Author: JH
Article 18 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) secures the right to liberty of movement and the freedom to choose where you live. This right is fundamental to global citizenship and maintaining family, cultural, and professional ties in a multicultural society.
Why is financial security conditional on staying in one place? JH, our lived experience writers, highlights a significant systemic barrier: the 28-day DSP (Disability Support Pension) travel limit. This piece examines how such rigid constraints infringe upon the rights of mental health consumers, creating a system where essential financial security is traded for curtailed movement.
Connecting Policy to Reality: JH’s Story
In 2024, I was granted the Disability Support Pension by the Australian Government. It was a big relief as I had been relying on getting medical certificates to exempt me from mutual obligations to get Centrelink, as I was too ill to work. It was an onerous and expensive process to apply for the DSP, and I was very relieved to receive it. It has given me a lot more stability and security in terms of income.
However, one of the conditions of receiving the DSP is that I cannot travel abroad for more than 28 days in a rolling 12-month period. This is very difficult for me because I am a migrant to Australia, and I still spend a significant portion of time in my home country, Singapore, where I would not be able to receive any kind of pension for my disability. I am also a professional writer and artist, and my publisher and networks span both Singapore and Australia, as well as other countries I have lived in. I often have to travel for writer’s festivals, residencies, and to attend family functions, including funerals of my elderly relatives.
I feel like this stipulation that I may lose my DSP if I am not careful to keep within 28 days of travel in a 12-month rolling period actually violates my right as described in the UN CRPD, Article 18: Liberty of Movement and Nationality: You have the right to move freely and to choose where you live. The stipulation is insensitive to migrants who may still have family and career obligations, or who find spending time in their countries of origin helpful to their wellbeing, especially if they have psychosocial disability.
I feel very constrained and hampered in my ability to network with fellow writers and artists at festivals and conferences because I am “saving” my travel days just in case an elderly relative dies and I have to attend a funeral. I think it is very important that in a multicultural society like Australia, where there are many migrants of different backgrounds and cultures, that policies like the DSP take into account the kind of family ties and obligations that people may have overseas and be compassionate about this. Not to mention I also want to spend time in my country of origin to reconnect with the culture and as inspiration for my work.
As a disabled person, I still have aspirations and work that matters to me. As a writer of migrant background, attending the Singapore Writer’s Festival each year means a lot to me as well, as I get to reconnect and network with my fellow Singaporean and Singaporean diaspora writers. I have been invited to the Georgetown Literary Festival in Penang, the Shanghai Literary Festival and the Singapore Writer’s Festival, and each time I get invited I have to weigh it up against losing my DSP because I may spend two weeks there. Disabled people have different types of capacity for work, and I want to be able to take advantage of these opportunities without losing the security of the pension. Hence, I think this policy of the DSP is in conflict with my fundamental right to freedom of movement and choice of where to live and nationality.
Our Call to Action
JH’s personal story clearly illustrates the systemic barriers that prevent people with psychosocial disability from exercising their human right to global movement and cultural participation. Advocating for a more flexible and humane DSP travel policy is critical to upholding UN CRPD Article 18.