Post by Banker on May 18, 2012 7:40:44 GMT 7
APPROVALS for the disability support pension have plunged by a third but the bill for the allowance is still set to grow by more than $2 billion within three years.
Since the government began reforms in 2010 the grant rate has fallen from 63.3 per cent to 40.7 per cent last month. Each month 5300 applicants start receiving the DSP, down from 7500 in 2010-11.
In the latest reforms in January new disability tables were introduced preventing people claiming they were too fat to work or had conditions more recent medical advances could treat well enough that working was possible.
Previous reforms mean people who seek the DSP must prove they have no capacity to work.
Last month there were 828,257 on the DSP, slightly down from December when 831,908 were paid the allowance.
But by 2015-16 the DSP is expected to cost $16.9 billion, up from $14.8 billion next financial year.
A spokeswoman for Disability Reform Minister Jenny Macklin said most of the increase was due to future increases in payment rates.
Currently recipients of the maximum rate of the DSP get $755.50 a fortnight, compared with $529.80 for the Newstart allowance.
The Labor government has increased the DSP payments by $154 a fortnight since 2009.
The number of people accessing the government's Disability Employment Services has leapt 43 per cent to 148,000 and almost 100,000 have found work in the past two years.
Boosting the disability service has cost more than $3 billion.
"Since coming into government we have overhauled the DSP assessment process, making it more thorough and focused on people's potential to work, rather than just their disability," Ms Macklin said.
"We have also increased support to help people with a disability find work. I believe we can do better than a lifetime spent on income support for Australians who have some capacity to work."
The Gillard government's slowing of the rate of grants for the DSP comes after an unsuccessful attempt by the Howard government to stem the growing pension.
Under Welfare to Work in 2006 grants for the DSP continued to rise, from 61.1 per cent to 63 per cent over 12 months.
Centrelink now assesses all DSP applicants where previously half of claims were assessed by private providers.
There is also a Health Profession Advisory Unit operating inside Centrelink and the staff in the unit provide Centrelink assessors with advice on medical matters canvassed in applications.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/disability-payments-defy-cuts/story-e6freuzi-1226359366218
Since the government began reforms in 2010 the grant rate has fallen from 63.3 per cent to 40.7 per cent last month. Each month 5300 applicants start receiving the DSP, down from 7500 in 2010-11.
In the latest reforms in January new disability tables were introduced preventing people claiming they were too fat to work or had conditions more recent medical advances could treat well enough that working was possible.
Previous reforms mean people who seek the DSP must prove they have no capacity to work.
Last month there were 828,257 on the DSP, slightly down from December when 831,908 were paid the allowance.
But by 2015-16 the DSP is expected to cost $16.9 billion, up from $14.8 billion next financial year.
A spokeswoman for Disability Reform Minister Jenny Macklin said most of the increase was due to future increases in payment rates.
Currently recipients of the maximum rate of the DSP get $755.50 a fortnight, compared with $529.80 for the Newstart allowance.
The Labor government has increased the DSP payments by $154 a fortnight since 2009.
The number of people accessing the government's Disability Employment Services has leapt 43 per cent to 148,000 and almost 100,000 have found work in the past two years.
Boosting the disability service has cost more than $3 billion.
"Since coming into government we have overhauled the DSP assessment process, making it more thorough and focused on people's potential to work, rather than just their disability," Ms Macklin said.
"We have also increased support to help people with a disability find work. I believe we can do better than a lifetime spent on income support for Australians who have some capacity to work."
The Gillard government's slowing of the rate of grants for the DSP comes after an unsuccessful attempt by the Howard government to stem the growing pension.
Under Welfare to Work in 2006 grants for the DSP continued to rise, from 61.1 per cent to 63 per cent over 12 months.
Centrelink now assesses all DSP applicants where previously half of claims were assessed by private providers.
There is also a Health Profession Advisory Unit operating inside Centrelink and the staff in the unit provide Centrelink assessors with advice on medical matters canvassed in applications.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/disability-payments-defy-cuts/story-e6freuzi-1226359366218