I wanted to set up a mail redirection in case I forget to change my address for anything over, but wouldn't you know it - not allowed to do that while you're under. For "legal reasons", they say
I'm really frustrated and disillusioned at the moment, and needed a rant. Open at your eyeballs' own risk
That actually made me really upset when I found out. Partially because by the time they bothered to tell me, I was already 3 quarters through the application and already sent in my ID, but also because it's just such a stupid thing to age-gate, and seems like it was thought up by the mind of somebody who's always lived a stereotypical upper class lifestyle
I know it's inconsequential, but it really reeks of the sort of restriction some rich private schooled arsehole would impose. The sort that grew up in a stock standard, white picket fence, 2 parent households - who's only struggles as a child were figuring out which one of their thousand dollar outfits to wear to their 80k a year private school, and one who never had to move around
At a surface glance, sure it seems logical to assume that every child will always move in sync with at least 1 of their parents, and can just be listed as a dependent on their parents redirection application. But in my situation, that just can't happen. And it really isn't just my situation that would necessitate redirecting your mail as a minor. Although less common than previous decades, some people do still get a job at 15/16 then move out. Some people move away for school or employment prospects. Some to escape violent home situations. Not everybody who moves out as a minor necessarily ends up in the child protection system
But the 1% tasked with running these shit shows don't think of that. They just assume that the luxuries they got to grow up with and took for granted are universal. They are very much not. I'm sure somebody will point out that parents want to know what mail and parcels their kids receive, and that's fine, I'm not saying every minor should automatically have a right to redirect or hold their mail. But there are so many supporting documents I could provide them - I have court orders, tenancy agreements, a lease, rent trails, I could even have the person acting on behalf of my guardian (in this case, my case manager) go in with me and backup what I'm saying. We could even go get a stat Dec written up
But even that isn't an option. There's no exemptions. No negotiations. It's go be listed on a parents application, or go fuck yourself. Personal circumstances are irrelevant, and so is supporting evidence.
I know I live in an edge case - every fucking company and governmental agency wants to make damn sure I know that. But it gets exhausting having to deal with this BS day in and day out. Actually, one of my earliest memories of dealing with the bureaucratic nightmare that has been my life was not long after I entered care, I dared to want a library card. They refused my application because I was a minor and couldn't get a signatory at the time. Another one of my earliest memories is when I had knee troubles from an incident that occurred many years ago and went to a physio. 9 month waitlist. Finally get in. She needs a piece of paper signed giving her consent to provide medical care, or whatever the piece of paper would've said. The worker wouldn't/couldn't do it. I just had to go home. Then COVID hit, and after another 9 month waitlist, the physio was just telling me what to do over the phone
I'm actually going to make a complaint about this to auspost, and when they inevitably come back in 2 business months to inform me they've investigated themselves and found their policies to be justified, I'm going to go to the postal industry ombudsman. And then I'm going to write angry letters to the ministers responsible for AP, and might even write another one to my federal MP. It has genuinely gotten me that riled up
Again, I know it's first world problems, and at that, probably the most minor problem in DT history. But it is making me really irrationally angry and I want to do something about it
Sorry for the rant, if anybody read it. With all the talk about these social media bans, on top of the issues with buying knives, and now trying to get a fricking mail redirection I'm really feeling like I keep slipping through the gaps and am getting left behind by half brained ideas thought up by privileged people
