Posted September 10, 2021
A Senate committee looking into the purpose, intent and adequacy of the DSP on Monday heard a range of longstanding concerns from people with disability and advocacy groups that the system is failing those who need it the most. Speakers said people who should be eligible for the DSP are often shunted onto much lower payments with job-seeking requirements, applicants have to “jump through hoops” to get support, the process does not “understand” certain conditions, and eligibility requirements are too bureaucratic and focused on the medical model of disability.
Posted June 8, 2021
Closing date: July 31, 2021
The Impairment Tables are used to determine eligibility for the DSP by assessing how a person’s functional impairment affects their ability to work. The current impairment tables came into effect in 2011 and will expire on 1 April 2022. Prior to a new legislative instrument being implemented, a review of the Impairment Tables is being conducted. The department is seeking the views of stakeholders including people with disability, advocacy and welfare groups, disability peak bodies, and members of the public to inform the development of the new Impairment Tables.
Posted May 21, 2021
Mr Rohan said Australians with disabilities deserved to be cared for at home according to their choice. “The measures announced in this budget only make that harder and will compound the significant distress and hardship that people with disability face when engaging with our immigration system,” he said.
Posted May 20, 2021
We’ve made it simpler for Centrelink customers to get a formal review of a decision. From 15 May 2021, our internal review process changed. Now, if you apply for a formal review, it will go straight to an Authorised Review Officer. Previously, we had to do an extra check of a decision before you could get a formal review.
Posted May 18, 2021
There have been a series of changes and cost-saving measures over recent years that have reduced the number of people able to access the Disability Support Program. Since then, there has been a sharp decline in people applying for and being approved for the DSP.
Posted May 14, 2021
The adequacy of the disability pension will be put under the microscope thanks to the Greens. A Senate committee will look at the purpose, intent and adequacy of the Disability Support Pension, with the expectation of reporting back by the end of November.
Posted February 26, 2021
Australian Greens Disability Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has called for an urgent intervention to lift young, disabled people out of poverty after new data, obtained by Children and Young People with Disability, was published today.
Posted February 23, 2021
Mary Sayers, the Cyda chief executive, said the figures had “exploded” for a number of reasons, including that governments had tightened access to the disability support pension, which is paid at a higher rate. “The other is the absolute entrenched disadvantage that young people face in the labour market,” she said. “So we’ve got a whole range of these really intractable problems that need attention.
Posted October 16, 2020
Low income Australians, including those on the Disability Support Pension, are set to receive a $500 handout from December – a welcome but ‘band-aid’ outcome of the 2020-21 Federal Budget according to peak body representatives.
Posted October 2, 2020
People without a specific severe impairment who want to access disability payment are being forced to first do 1.5 years of job search
Posted August 14, 2020
Applying for a government payment can be daunting. And the task can be even harder if you don’t understand the types of doctors’ reports and information that you’re required to collect. A new online tool has been designed to help make it easier for people to navigate the application process for the Disability Support Pension.
Posted July 17, 2020
Grampians DisAbility Advocacy executive officer Debbie Verdon said the organisation already had long waiting lists for people looking for help, and cutting the coronavirus supplement would kick them while they were down. “A lot of people who sit on the former NewStart payment (now JobSeeker) are people with a disability, and they come to us and ask for help with getting the Disability Support Pension, because it’s quite a process,” she said.
Posted May 13, 2020
Disability pensioners are turning to lawyers to fight for access to the JobSeeker payment, as recipients reveal they have had to skip meals and even stop taking medication during the pandemic.
Posted April 30, 2020
A coalition of advocacy groups are demanding the government include people receiving the disability support pension on the fortnightly $550 COVID-19 supplement following the exclusion of disabled people and their carers, despite welfare recipients such as those on JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and Austudy being eligible.
Posted April 27, 2020
Australians with disabilities say they are being forgotten as the Federal Government rolls out its $213 billion stimulus response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those on the Disability Support Pension will miss out on the Coronavirus Supplement payment, which is $550 a fortnight. And with the current social distancing measures in place, many people with disabilities say they’re struggling to go about their daily lives.
