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Who can get Disability Support Pension?

You may get Disability Support Pension if you have an illness, injury or disability and you are:

• aged 16 or over and under Age Pension age, and
• assessed as not being able to work or be retrained for work of at least 15 hours per week within two years because of your illness, injury or disability, or
• permanently blind, or
• participating in the Supported Wage System (SWS).

Please Note: In most cases you must have lived in Australia for a total of 10 years as an Australian resident, or your disability occurred while you were an Australian resident.

You will need to provide a report from your doctor on your impairment and work capacity. You may also be required to attend a Job Capacity Assessment with a Job Capacity Assessor.

Your illness, injury or disability must also attract an impairment rating of at least 20 points on the impairment tables. These impairment tables, contained in the Social Security Law, rate a person's impairment according to the severity of medical conditions and how they affect their ability to work. Impairment tables are completed by Job Capacity Assessors using information provided in medical reports and details provided by customers.

Your and your partner's (if you have one) income and assets must be below certain amounts. You are exempt from the income and assets test if you are permanently blind, however, your partner must meet the income and assets test to qualify for a partnered-rate pension. Your payment may also be affected if you get Workers' Compensation or Third Party damages.

For more information, go to Factors that Affect Payments and Eligibility.