In most after you lodge a claim for the disability support pension Centrelink will make an appointment for you called a Job Capacity Assessment. At the appointment a Centrelink employee, who is an allied health or health professional, conducts an assessment of your eligibility for the disability support pension, including your ability to work and rating under the Impairment Tables. If they think you may be eligible for the disability support pension, you are usually then referred for a second appointment with a medical practitioner or psychologist contracted by Centrelink. They will conduct a second assessment of whether you are eligible for the disability support pension. What evidence should I have? It is very important that you have evidence about all your health problems and their impact on you. This includes existing medical records you have, such as specialist reports, operation reports or scans or rehabilitation reports. These records may not cover all your health problems or their impact on you. It is also helpful to ask your current treating health professionals to write a letter to explain your health problems. If you do this it is important to discuss whether they are going to charge you for the report before they do it, as medical reports can cost thousands of dollars. The main things the letter should cover are: The day to day things you can and cannot do because of your health problems Your doctor’s opinion of your impairment rating, which explains why they think this is the appropriate rating by referring to the Impairment Tables Your treatment history and any planned treatment If there is planned treatment, what your doctor expects is the likely outcome of the treatment for you. There is a sample letter at the end of this factsheet. Appeals, new evidence and changes to my health You can appeal against Centrelink’s decision to reject your claim for the disability support pension or cancel your disability support pension. We have a factsheet about appeals on our website. You can provide new evidence about your health problems if you appeal. If this evidence is a new report or assessment, it is important that the health professional writing the report talks about your health problems at around the time you claimed the disability support pension (or the time Centrelink decided to cancel it) and clearly distinguish this from your current problems if there has been any change.
In most after you lodge a claim for the disability support pension Centrelink will make an appointment for you called a Job Capacity Assessment. At the appointment a Centrelink employee, who is an allied health or health professional, conducts an assessment of your eligibility for the disability support pension, including your ability to work and rating under the Impairment Tables. If they think you may be eligible for the disability support pension, you are usually then referred for a second appointment with a medical practitioner or psychologist contracted by Centrelink. They will conduct a second assessment of whether you are eligible for the disability support pension. What evidence should I have? It is very important that you have evidence about all your health problems and their impact on you. This includes existing medical records you have, such as specialist reports, operation reports or scans or rehabilitation reports. These records may not cover all your health problems or their impact on you. It is also helpful to ask your current treating health professionals to write a letter to explain your health problems. If you do this it is important to discuss whether they are going to charge you for the report before they do it, as medical reports can cost thousands of dollars. The main things the letter should cover are: The day to day things you can and cannot do because of your health problems Your doctor’s opinion of your impairment rating, which explains why they think this is the appropriate rating by referring to the Impairment Tables Your treatment history and any planned treatment If there is planned treatment, what your doctor expects is the likely outcome of the treatment for you. There is a sample letter at the end of this factsheet. Appeals, new evidence and changes to my health You can appeal against Centrelink’s decision to reject your claim for the disability support pension or cancel your disability support pension. We have a factsheet about appeals on our website. You can provide new evidence about your health problems if you appeal. If this evidence is a new report or assessment, it is important that the health professional writing the report talks about your health problems at around the time you claimed the disability support pension (or the time Centrelink decided to cancel it) and clearly distinguish this from your current problems if there has been any change.