Medical assessments for the purposes of determining medical eligibility for Disability Support Pension

The Department of Human Services (‘the Department’) is an Australian Government department reporting to the Minister for Human Services and is subject to the requirements of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth). The Department administers a range of health, social and welfare programs, payments and services through its Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support programmes, including the Disability Support Pension.

In summary, the Department is seeking the provision of medical assessments for the purposes of determining medical eligibility for Disability Support Pension Customers (Requirement).

After the Department has determined that a Customer meets the non-medical qualification criteria, the Customer is required to attend a JCA appointment. Any potential Disability Support Pension (DSP) grants or reviews will be referred to a Government-contracted Doctors (GCD) for a DMA.

For clarity, the DMA is not an assessment of work capacity but an assessment of the medical conditions of the Customer, and their functional impact, which form the basis of medical eligibility for DSP. The same assessment process is used for new claims, appeals and reviews of ongoing eligibility.

For further clarity, the GCD is not responsible for making a determination for the grant or continuation of DSP, which is the responsibility of the appropriate Department delegate.