The Disability Support Pension (DSP) is the Australian government’s primary income support payment for people with a permanent physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment that prevents them from fully engaging in employment.

Major policy changes to the DSP since 2011 have tightened the eligibility criteria for the payment, reducing the number and rate of successful applications. At the same time, the number of people who receive unemployment payments from the government, who have a ‘partial capacity to work’ due to disability or illness, has increased.

The medical and non-medical requirements make the DSP inaccessible for many applicants. The evidence required to make a claim for the DSP can be difficult to obtain and cost-prohibitive, and the process for applying is long, complex, and not well understood by applicants or treating health professionals. The committee heard that the challenges for people with disability navigating this system are varied, and can be exacerbated by their condition, and personal and financial circumstances.

Report structure

• Chapter 1 provides an overview of the DSP, the eligibility requirements and claims process, as well as the history of changes to DSP policies.
• Chapter 2 outlines the significant barriers to accessing the DSP created by the eligibility requirements and claims process.
• Chapter 3 discusses how the DSP and its processes detrimentally impact people with disability and chronic illness, including the disproportionate impact on some vulnerable groups.
• Chapter 4 explores employment participation and the DSP, including the way the DSP is intended to engage people in the workforce, and the challenges experienced by people with disability obtaining appropriate employment and dealing with employment service providers.
• Chapter 5 discusses the adequacy of the rate of the DSP, how the payment interacts with other government payments and supplements, and opportunities for broader reform.