19/05/2026
People assume that once I left the Queensland Police Service with a work related injury, I’d be taken care of.
That I’d get a pension, support, treatment and can finally focus on recovery.
The reality is very different.
The moment you put your hand up and admit you’re struggling, your life becomes paperwork, assessments, reports, phone calls, reviews and endless hoops you’re expected to jump through just to prove that you’re not okay.
You go from serving your community to constantly justifying why you deserve help.
I served Queensland for 10 years as a police officer. Like many first responders, I saw things that stay with you forever. Eventually the job caught up with me and when I finally asked for help, I genuinely believed the system would support those who had spent years supporting everyone else.
Instead, it feels like the system is designed to wear you down.
Meanwhile, we constantly see headlines about enormous government spending and politicians claiming expenses that most ordinary Australians couldn’t even comprehend, while injured first responders are left fighting through bureaucracy simply to survive.
earns roughly $390-$430k a year and has claimed over HALF A MILLION dollars in the first quarter of this year. On track to cost the taxpayer almost 2.5 million in wages and expenses this year alone. earns between $360-$390k a year and has claimed almost THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND in the first quarter. Again, on track to cost the taxpayer close to 1.5 million this year. The disability pension (if you can jump enough hoops and be approved), for a medically retired police officer suffering lifelong PTSD, depression, anxiety…
$27,000 a YEAR! Equivalent to just FOUR days of Penny Wongs tax payer money.
This post isn’t about sympathy.
It’s about awareness.
Because unless you’ve lived it, most people genuinely have no idea how hard these systems make life for people already struggling.
Mental health campaigns tell people to “speak up” and “ask for help.”
What they don’t tell you is what can come after that.
