Payments
Eligibility
You may be eligible for Sickness Allowance if you are unable to work or study temporarily because of illness, injury or disability.
You also need to be under Age Pension age, and:
- aged 21 or over and have a job, or
- aged 21 or over and getting ABSTUDY, or
- aged 25 or over and getting Austudy, and
- an Australian resident, in Australia and not subject to the 2-year newly arrived resident's waiting period.
You must have work or study to return to when you are better. Otherwise, you may be eligible for another payment from Centrelink, for example Newstart Allowance.
Note: You need to get your doctor to fill out a medical certificate, preferably a Centrelink medical certificate, which confirms you are medically unfit for your usual work.