Disability Support Pension

You may receive Disability Support Pension if you have a physical, intellectual, or psychiatric condition that stops you from working or being retrained for work within the next two years or if you are permanently blind and meet the eligibility requirements.

You may receive Disability Support Pension if you:

• are over 16 years of age and under Age Pension age
• you are permanently blind or have been assessed as having a physical, intellectual, or psychiatric impairment
• participating in a Supported Wage System, where we subsidise your wages to your employer, or

• meet the income and assets tests for your situation
• are an Australian resident and in Australia when you claim

To assess your eligibility for Disability Support Pension, we usually need a report from your doctor or specialist about your disability, injury or illness. You may also need to have a Job Capacity Assessment. A Job Capacity Assessment is a way of finding out whether you can work, how much work you can do and how much help you need in order to find and keep a job.

The payment rates for Disability Support Pension are updated on 20 March and 20 September each year for those over 21 or under 21 with children. The rates are updated on 1 January of each year for those under 21 without children.

The transitional rate of pension is a special rate for people who would ordinarily have received a lower pension because of income test changes in 2009.

You are automatically paid the transitional rate of pension if your rate has always been higher than the rate introduced in 2009.

The transitional rate of pension can apply to:

• Age Pension
• Bereavement Allowance
• Carer Payment
• Disability Support Pension (except if you are aged under 21 and have no children)
• Widow B Pension
• Wife Pension.

Calculating the transitional rate

Your transitional pension rate is compared to the rate of the pension you would receive under the current income test. You will keep receiving the transitional rate while it is more than the current rate. As soon as the current rate is the same or more than your transitional rate, you will be paid under the current means test. You will no longer be eligible for the transitional rate.

Losing the transitional rate

Changes like having more or less income can alter the amount of your pension payment. You cannot go back to your transitional rate if you start receiving the current rate because of a change in your circumstances.

It is important to understand what effect a brief change, like earning more or less employment income, may have on your pension. A Customer Service Officer or Financial Information Service Officer can explain the likely outcomes to you.

You can earn a certain amount of income before your Disability Support Pension payment is affected. Read information about the Income test for pensions.

Income test

You can earn a certain amount of income before your Disability Support Pension payment is affected. Read information about the Income test for pensions.

Assets test

An asset is any property or possession you partly or fully own. It includes assets held outside Australia and debts owing to you. See information about the Assets test for pensions.

Hardship provisions

If you are in severe financial hardship but do not meet the eligibility criteria, we will help you by assessing your financial situation and assets differently. Read more about hardship provisions.

If you are permanently blind

If you are permanently blind, you may not be subject to the income or assets test unless:

• you are claiming Rent Assistance
• your partner claims an income support payment

Your parents’ income and assets do not affect payment rates. If you get Worker’s Compensation or Third Party damages, it may affect your payment.

 To meet residency requirements you must be an Australian resident and in Australia on the day that you lodge your claim.

To be an Australian resident, you must be living in Australia as:

• an Australian citizen
• the holder of a permanent resident visa, or
• the holder of a special-category visa–that is, someone with a New Zealand passport living in Australia, or
• a New Zealand citizen who was in Australia on 26 February 2001 or for 12 months in the two years immediately before that date, or who was assessed before 26 February 2004 as 'protected'

Newly arrived residents generally have a two-year waiting period. Some exemptions apply for refugees, holders of certain other permanent visas, Australian citizens, and in some circumstances their partners and dependent children.

If a payment is child related, the child must also meet the residency requirements.

You also need to have been an Australian resident for a continuous period of at least 10 years, or for a number of periods that total more than 10 years, with one of the periods being at least five years, unless you:

• you are claiming under an international social security agreement
• you are a refugee or former refugee, or
• your inability to work or blindness happened while you were an Australian resident

If you have an illness, an injury, or a disability and you receive Disability Support Pension, you may also qualify for other payments and services such as:

You need to tell us if your circumstances change when you are receiving a payment. For example, if:

• your personal circumstances change
• you change your address
• your income changes
• you do not have to lodge a tax return
• your care arrangements change
• your work or study load changes
• you leave Australia

If you do not tell us about the changes within 14 days your payment may be affected. You may be overpaid benefits and you will probably have to pay the money back.

If you deliberately do not tell us about changes, you could be charged with fraud, and a recovery fee may be imposed.

We do regular reviews to make sure that you continue to be eligible for payments and that your rate of payment is correct.

Disability Support Pension customers can work for up to 30 hours a week and continue to receive a part pension, as long as you still meet the income test.

If you work for 30 hours or more, your payments will be stopped. If you reduce your work hours within two years, contact us, and we can check whether your payment can start again.

Pensioner Concession Card

While you are receiving Disability Support Pension, you are automatically entitled to a Pensioner Concession Card. You can still use your Pensioner Concession Card for up to 12 months even if your income reduces your Disability Support Pension payment to zero.

If you return to work, you need to let us know

If you are not working at the moment and you start working, you will need to contact us. If you are working and you increase your hours or your income changes, you need to let us know.

If your Disability Support Pension is currently suspended or cancelled due to a return to work, but you are working less than 30 hours per week, contact us, and we will check whether you are eligible for a part pension.

If you start work or increase your working hours we will carry out an income test. This will allow us to work out if your payment will change.

If your circumstances stay the same, you do not need to do anything.

Disability Support Pension customers who are under 35 years of age and have been assessed as having some capacity for activities may need to meet with us for regular participation interviews.

Read more about participation requirements

You may be eligible to receive part of your Centrelink payment in advance. Accessing an advance payment depends on the type of payment you receive, how long you have been receiving it and the amount that you receive.

Read more about advance payment options

There are rules about getting your payment when you leave Australia.

Read more about payments paid while outside Australia

You can authorise another person or organisation to deal with us on your behalf and receive your Centrelink payments under a correspondence or nominee arrangement.

Read more about someone to deal with us on your behalf

Pulse is an e-newsletter and website that keep our customers who receive Disability Support Pension up-to-date with the latest news about disability programs, services, and payments.

If you are not an e-newsletter subscriber, visit Pulse to view the articles and register to receive the e-newsletter. When you subscribe, you will receive information about our disability services by email.

Language, literacy and numeracy training is available to people who receive certain Centrelink payments. The training can improve your chances of getting and keeping a job by developing speaking, reading, writing and basic maths skills.

Read more about language, literacy and numeracy training

Listen to the disability podcast, which offers interesting information and interviews that will keep you informed and up to date.

Read more about the disability podcast

Watch videos featuring our Disability Champions who share their stories and achievements with us. These Disability Champions talk about the inspiring things they have done with their lives, and how they have managed their disability while achieving their goals.

Read more about Disability Champions