2. Overview of qualification

2.1 Qualification requirements

The tables below list the qualification requirements for:

• Disability Support Pension (Table 23.2),
• Sickness Allowance (Table 23.3),
• Newstart Allowance (incapacitated) and Youth Allowance (incapacitated) (Table 23.4); and
• Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance (unemployed), Parenting Payment and Special Benefit for people with a “partial capacity to work” (Table 23.5).

Table 23.2 Qualification for Disability Support Pension

Table 23.2 Qualification for Disability Support Pension

A person qualifies for Disability Support Pension where:

the person is at least 16 and has a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment/s; and the person has an impairment rating of 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables; and the impairment/s causes a “continuing inability to work” (ordinary DSP) or a "current inability to work" (alternative DSP); and the person satisfies the residence requirements*; or the person is permanently blind, is at least 16 and satisfies the residential requirements. * Other residential criteria including a refugee exemption, may apply, see Chapter 11.

Table 23.3 Qualification for Sickness Allowance

Table 23.3 Qualification for Sickness Allowance

A person qualifies for Sickness Allowance where:

the person is incapacitated for work because of sickness, accident or a flare-up of symptoms associated with a disability; and

the incapacity is temporary; and the person gives Centrelink a medical certificate; and

the incapacity for work is caused by a medical or psychiatric condition arising from the sickness, injury or disability; and

the person has a job to return to or they were a full-time student receiving Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY or Austudy Payment and they are committed to resuming their full-time study; and

the person is 21 and over; and

the person will not turn pension age during the incapacity; and

the person satisfies residence requirements.

Table 23.4 Qualification for Newstart Allowance and Youth Allowance (unemployed) with exemption from the activity test because of incapacity

Table 23.4 Qualification for Newstart Allowance and Youth Allowance (unemployed) with exemption from the activity test because of incapacity

A person qualifies for NSA or YA with exemption from the activity test because of incapacity where:

the person is incapacitated for work because of sickness, accident or a flare-up of symptoms associated with a disability; and

the injury or sickness is temporary; and

the person gives Centrelink a medical certificate; the incapacity for work is caused by a medical or psychiatric condition arising from the sickness, injury or disability; and

the person would otherwise qualify for Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance; and

Centrelink is satisfied that the incapacity was not brought about so that the person could get an exemption from the activity test; and

following an assessment of the person’s medical condition and work capacity, Centrelink decides that due to the incapacity the person is unable to fulfill activity test requirements, including job preparation activities, and should not be required to undertake any programme of assistance or another reasonable activity; the person satisfies residence requirements.

Table 23.5 Qualification for Newstart Allowance and Youth Allowance (unemployed) for people with “partial capacity for work” due to a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment

Table 23.5 Qualification for Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance Parenting Payment and Special Benefit as a person with a “partial capacity to work”

A person with a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment who qualifies for NSA, YA or Parenting Payment or Special Benefit will be assessed as having a “partial capacity to work” where:

a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) has confirmed that the person has a partial capacity for work due to a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment; the person has been assessed as being able to work less than 30 hours per week, due to the impairment; and the person satisfies the activity test and activity agreement requirements, ie, they look for work, undertake suitable work, or engage in a suitable programme of assistance, to their assessed capacity; the person satisfies residence requirements.

Generally speaking, Sickness Allowance, Newstart Allowance (incapacitated) and Youth Allowance (incapacitated) are for conditions which, at the time of medical assessment, are likely to cause a temporary inability to work. Newstart Allowance and Youth Allowance (unemployed) for people with a “partial capacity for work” are payments for long-term or permanent conditions or disabilities that limit the hours of work a person can reasonably undertake.

Disability Support Pension is a longer-term income support payment for people with a disability that prevents them from working for more than 15 hours per week (or 30 hours per week under the "old" rules - see Chapter 25). To be eligible for "ordinary" DSP a person must have a "continuing inability to work" for at least two years. For "alternative" DSP, a person must have a "current inability to work" and meet other requirements (see Chapter 25).

Establishing qualification for DSP generally requires submission of extensive medical evidence for assessment under the “Impairment Tables”. It can be difficult to establish qualification. Claims for DSP are assessed by a Job Capacity Assessor in most cases. The Job Capacity Assessor will assess the person’s level of impairment under the “Impairment Tables” as well as the number of hours that a person is capable of working per week.

The advantages of Disability Support Pension over Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance or Sickness Allowance are:

• the income test is less harsh;
• the fringe benefits and concessions are generally more extensive;
• evidence that the inability to work is continuing is not as frequently required;
• the maximum amount of payment is generally higher; and
• it can always be paid to a person while they are overseas for up to 13 weeks, and sometimes indefinitely (see Chapter 25).

Sickness Allowance and Newstart Allowance cannot be paid to a person who has reached the qualifying age for Age Pension. This applies even if they are ineligible for Age Pension (eg because of lack of 10 years residence in Australia). Disability Support Pension can continue to be once a person passes Age Pension age provided the person qualified for Disability Support Pension before reaching Age Pension age (65 for men; for Age Pension age for women, see Table 27.1).

People who do not qualify for any other income support payment because of the residence rules may qualify for Special Benefit (see Chapter 19).

Chapter 24 describes in detail the requirements to qualify for Sickness Allowance, and Newstart Allowance (incapacitated) and Youth Allowance (incapacitated). Procedures for making and supporting claims, and the ways in which claims are assessed by Centrelink are also described.

Chapter 25 describes in detail the requirements to qualify for DSP. Suggestions as to how to deal with problems when claiming DSP are also provided.

2.2 Blindness

Where a person qualifies for Disability Support Pension because they are “permanently blind”, no income or assets test is applied. The payment is often called a “Blind Pension”, although strictly speaking it is only a type of DSP or Age Pension. For more information, see Chapter 25.