The Australian government provides a huge range of disabilities for people living with any significant disability in the country. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is one of the biggest disability support programs in the world, and it is funded by the Australian government. However, there are other programs to help people as well.
As an NDIS participant, you must have heard about the disability support pension increase 2023, but did you wonder what this is about?
Well, similar to NDIS, a disability support pension is a type of disability services in Sydney that can be funded for the participants. The government gives pensions to people living with disabilities so they can spend their lives with comfort and ease. However, people and authorities argue that the eligibility criteria for disability support pension is extreme. Participants cannot easily access this support. Comparatively, NDIS has much easier eligibility criteria. You simply need to be an Australian citizen and have a disability that affects your daily life.
Disability pension support, on the other hand, is more complex, which makes it difficult for participants to access this service. While it is true that not everyone can get the disability support pension increase 2023, there are people who can. For them, we have created this blog to help them understand what it is and how they can access it.
What is a Disability Support Pension?
It is disability support that provides social grants from the government for people with permanent intellectual, physical, or sensory disabilities. This support is funded for people who are unable to work due to their disability. However, receiving this support is not easy as you have to prove your inability to work. To be eligible to receive pension support, you need to be unable to work at least 15 hours a week for at least two years. If the duration is any less than that, your application gets rejected. Centrelink handles the administration of disability support pensions. It is the organization that delivers income support to Australians.
Difference Between NDIS and DSP
The Australian government funds both of these disability support programs, but there are factors that make them different from one another.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a support program that is designed to help participants receive the right amount of support for their disabilities. It covers a wide variety of expenses that participants need to access to be able to achieve their goals. The funding provided in this program is strictly used for things that are related to the disability.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) analyzes the participant’s physical and intellectual needs with the help of their occupational therapy assessment report. Then, they create a plan covering all the support that will be funded for the participant. In case, the participant needs more support, they can request the NDIA to add it to their plan. If the agency considers the request reasonable, they add the support. However, it is important to remember that NDIS doesn’t fund anything unrelated to the disability.
On the other hand, Disability Support Pension (DSP) is funding that is given to people who cannot work due to a permanent disability. This funding can be used to cover the cost of their living. It works as an alternative to the monthly income that the person would generate in other circumstances. However, due to their disability, they are unable to do that; hence, the Australian government provides this funding. Participants can use this money to pay their rent, buy groceries and food, and spend it on anything regardless of its relation to the disability. This is one of the major differences between NDIS and DSP.
These two schemes are completely different from each other and have different purposes and eligibility criteria. If you are eligible for one, it doesn’t make you eligible for the other as well. NDIS doesn’t pay for any support that you are already receiving from another disability program, so you need to make sure you know all the requirements for eligibility for both of these schemes.
Who is Eligible for DSP?
Since we have talked so much about the strict eligibility criteria of DSP, you might be wondering what exactly it is. And how can you become a part of this scheme?
Well, here’s the answer to these questions.
You need to fulfill both medical and non-medical criteria to become eligible for this support. You can qualify for the medical criteria if you have one or more of the following disabilities.
- Category 4 Aids/HIV
- Permanent blindness
- A terminal illness that makes your life expectancy 2 years or less.
- Intellectual disability that makes your IQ less than 70.
- Need for home nursing care
If you have one or more of the mentioned disabilities, you can apply for DSP, but you also need to meet non-medical criteria to be completely eligible for the funding. Following are the non-medical criteria you need to fulfill.
- Pass the income test.
- Your age must be 15 years and 9 months and under the Age Pension age, which is at least 66 years.
- Pass the asset test.
- Having an Australian residency of 10 years with at least a continuous residency of 5 years. You must also be unable to work in Australia due to your disability.
How to Claim it?
The hardest part of receiving DSP is being eligible for the scheme. Once you have identified your eligibility, applying for it becomes easier. You can apply for it online by myGov and Centrelink. You need to set up your account. But before applying for a pension, you need to gather all your important documents in one place. These documents include your medical report, financial statement, employment history, residency, and more of the following.
- Proof of how your disability affects your work.
- Your symptoms
- Your past and current treatment plan.
- The names and contact details of your healthcare providers.
The process can be long and tiring as it is not easy to claim these disability services in Sydney. So make sure you check your eligibility before going into the process. This is one way of making sure that you don’t waste your time on this.
Which Support is More Effective?
If you are thinking of receiving one of the two support from the Australian government, it is natural to be confused about the services. It is important to educate yourself about NDIS and DSP to identify which one is right for you. There’s no telling you which one you should choose because it depends on your needs. While the funds in DSP can be used for your living costs, NDIS covers the expense of your disability support. It helps you improve your daily life by funding NDIS core support and many other services.
If you want to receive funds for disability support from the government, it would be more beneficial for you to apply for NDIS. However, if you are unable to afford your living costs and are looking for a way to fund your expenses, DSP might be the right choice because you cannot use your NDIS funding for your rent and groceries, while DSP is designed to do that for you.
