Does DHS have access review my bank account and transactions ?

I just read my post back and pictured this lol 



Sorry if you read it that way too!

Thanks Bumbles. I appreciate your comments.  I do have my reasons for not wanting to spend the few thousand I have, they are very valid and not for superficial reasons at all.  I will be able to justify it to the Gov if I have to.

Thanks again

The ability to access your Super is restricted to those facing financial hardship. 

If you have the money in the bank to fund it but you dont want to use it for this surgery, it could be viewed that the surgery is for a non-life threatening condition.

I understand the draw of getting the money out of Super and not touching savings, but then I wouldnt want a government agency breathing down my neck or the stress of being 'found out'. 

If the money is scheduled to be spent on something you could reasonably argue you cant do without (ie not a holiday or a pool lol) you could add this as an attachment to your application and hope for the best.

Thanks Denzel, I appreciate where you are coming from.  I am a bit nervous about it myself, I just don't know whether they can see the balance of the account - ie I can withdraw my funds and hide somewhere under the bed ! or whether they can see individual transactions and ask where did that money go ?

I have read that some people have "taken funds out and stashed them away" - did anyone who did this have any issues ?  Many Thanks

Hi Missymoo45,

I was in the same position as you, ie had savings that I could use for the Gap...
but wanted to apply for my Super as I was no longer working for health reasons (not related to obesity).

And I decided not to go ahead and submit my forms in the eventuality that if they did go and check - which I think they can do - I wouldn't want to be caught out!
So, for me, it was the fear of being caught out that stopped me doing it.

All the best!

hi everyone, I haven't submitted my forms just yet,  I have been able to document my outgoings against income and prove we are in the "red" every month.  But I do have a small amount of savings that technically I could use to pay for the surgery ( the Gap in phi) but we have other plans for the money and I am prefer to use my super.

Do I need to ensure account is basically at zero ? If I do need to, should I withdraw it lump sum, or will they be able to see the transaction history and question where the money went .?

Any advice please ?  Thanks