• Contact Centrelink to register your “intent to claim”.
  • You can do this by phone or in person.
• Centrelink can mail you the claim forms, if you can’t collect them yourself.
• Return your claim form to Centrelink within 14 days.
• You have up to 13 weeks to provide the report/s from your doctor/s.
• Make sure you let Centrelink know if it will take longer than the 14 days to complete your claim form and to get your doctor’s report/s.
• Stay in touch with Centrelink throughout the claim process.

• To qualify for DSP, you must meet certain criteria.
• The two main criteria are:
  • Impairment rating
  • Continuing inability to work
• You may find you qualify for DSP, but it is not “payable” because of other issues such as income or assets or age. 
• The best way to find out about your eligibility is to make a claim.
  • If your claim is rejected, you can appeal.

• An “impairment rating” is a measurement of the effect of physical, intellectual and psychiatric impairment on a person’s ability to work.
• One of the criteria for DSP is an impairment rating of at least 20 points on the impairment tables.
  • To see the Impairment Tables, try typing “Impairment Tables social security” into an internet search engine.
• An impairment rating can only be assigned for permanent conditions which have been:
  • Fully diagnosed, and
  • Treated, and
  • Stabilised
    • Stabilised means unlikely to show any significant improvement within the next 2 years.
• The Job Capacity Assessor will assign your impairment rating, as part of your Job Capacity Assessment.
  • Make sure you provide information about all your conditions.
• The Job Capacity Assessor will use the “Impairment Tables” to assign your rating.
• If your impairment rating is less than 20 points, your DSP claim will be rejected.
  • If you disagree, you can appeal.

• A “continuing inability to work” means you have a disability which prevents you from:
  • working 15 or more hours per week, (with or without support), during the next 2 years, or
  • undertaking retraining or vocational rehabilitation of 15 or more hours a week during the next 2 years.

• This is an assessment of your ability to work and/or participate in programs that could help you get work.
• The “Job Capacity Assessor” will assess how your disability/s affects your capacity to work.
• They will ask you questions about your disability.
• They will use the information you give them and your treating doctor’s report/s to work out your “impairment rating”.
  • If you have an “impairment rating” of at least 20 points, they will then look at if  you have a “continuing inability to work” .
• Make sure you provide information about all your medical conditions.
• A Job Capacity Assessment also looks at other “barriers” preventing a person from working or participating in programs and recommends what can be done to help.
• You can take a friend, relative or advocate with you.

Take any relevant information about your condition(s):

• general practitioner’s report(s)
• specialist’s report(s)
• psychiatrist’s report(s)
• x-ray report(s)
• a list of all your current medications
• spectacles (glasses) or contact lenses
• hearing aid(s)
• workers’ compensation medical report(s)
• rehabilitation assessment(s)
• medical test result(s), and
• any other information about your medical condition(s).

• For DSP, “treated” means you have undertaken, and/or are undertaking the current conventional treatment for your condition(s).
• Centrelink may reject your claim if they consider that:
  • you have not undertaken all conventional treatment options or
  • you plan to undertake a treatment which is expected to result in a significant functional improvement in the next 2 years.

For conditions to be fully ”stabilised”:

• you must have undertaken all available (reasonable) treatment, or
• a significant functional improvement is unlikely to occur within the next 2 years, whether or not you have treatment

• Make sure you let Centrelink know if it will take longer than 14 days, from the date you first lodged your claim, to get your medical report(s).
  • Centrelink may be able to give you a bit more time.
• If Centrelink rejects your claim because you have not provided medical evidence, you can appeal.
  • Make sure you appeal within 13 weeks of the rejection.
  • Once you have got your medical report, you can give it to Centrelink as part of your appeal.

• You can claim Newstart Allowance (Incapacitated) in the meantime.
  • Contact Centrelink for further information.

• If you claimed DSP before 1^st July 2006, you were assessed under the “old rules”.
  • This meant Centrelink looked at whether you were able to work, or engage in training, for at least 30 hours per week
• People claiming DSP after 1^st July 2006 are assessed under the “new rules”.
  • This means Centrelink looks at whether you are able to work, or engage in training, for at least 15 hours per week.
• If you were granted DSP under the “old rules”, you may later be reviewed under the “new rules”.

• If it is obvious that you have a “continuing inability to work”, Centrelink may decide  that your qualification for DSP is “manifest”.
• This means Centrelink can grant DSP without you having to go through all the usual assessment process.
• Manifest grants may only be made to a persons with certain ,very  serious conditions. 
• Contact your local Welfare Rights Centre or Centrelink for further information.

• You can appeal.

• You can work up to 14 hours per week, (29 hours under the “old rules”), and still be eligible for the DSP.
• Any income earned can affect your payment.
• You must report any income earned to Centrelink.
• Centrelink may decide to “review” your payment, if you start working again.
• Centrelink can suspend your DSP for up to 2 years, while you see how you go at working again if:
  • Your income puts you over the income test limit or
  • You want to work more than 15 hours (“new rules”) or 30 hours (“old rules”)
• If you find that you can’t manage, or your job finishes, your DSP can be reinstated, provided the suspension did not last longer than 2 years.
• You need to tell Centrelink within 14 days of starting work.
• If you tell Centrelink after 14 days, they will cancel your payment; however it is “deemed” suspended for the 2 years.
• Talk to Centrelink about your plan to go back to work and what is the best option for you.

• Centrelink can suspend your DSP for up to 2 years, while you see how you go at working again if:
  • Your income puts you over the income test limit or
  • You want to work more than 15 hours (“new rules”) or 30 hours (“old rules”) 
• If you find that you can’t manage, or your job finishes, your DSP can be reinstated, provided the suspension did not last longer than 2 years.
• You need to tell Centrelink within 14 days of starting work.
• If you tell Centrelink after 14 days, they will cancel your payment; however it is “deemed” suspended for the 2 years.
• Talk to Centrelink about your plan to go back to work and what is the best option for you.

• Factsheet:  Disability Support Pension
• Factsheet:  Appeals – how to appeal against a Centrelink decision
• Contact your local Welfare Rights Centre
• Contact Centrelink
• On this site: Disagree with Centrelink?