Post by Banjo on Jun 15, 2011 18:39:17 GMT 7
Prove disability or go to work
A CRACKDOWN on people on the disability support pension has found tens of thousands can work.
The crackdown will affect everyone under the age of 35 who claims the pension and all new applicants.
The government will interview former employers and investigate compensation claims and work history to test applicants' eligibility for the disability pension.
Communities Minister Jenny Macklin will also reverse the onus of proof for the 40,000 people a year who try to go straight from work to the $730-a-fortnight pension.
They will now have to prove they cannot work and will undergo a job capacity assessment.
If a person fails the assessment the Government will reject the claim and put them on the Newstart allowance, where they will have to look for a suitable job or rehabilitation program.
Before the crackdown, applicants for the pension did not face any test to determine if they could work.
All they needed was a certificate from their doctor.
As part of the crackdown, 18,000 applicants will be rejected outright and diverted to the Newstart allowance.
They will have to look for a job through an employment service, a disability employment service or vocational rehabilitation. All applicants or existing recipients under 35 will have to re-skill, attend rehabilitation or become a volunteer.
Analysis of new applicants showed many did not have a disability and could work.
"People with a capacity to work will no longer be able to go straight on to the disability pension," Ms Macklin said.
"They will need to make a genuine effort to get the help they need to be ready for work."
Without reforms, within three years the disability pension will cost taxpayers more than $15 billion a year. There are currently more than 815,000 people on the pension nationwide, including more than 250,000 in NSW.
The changes are due to be voted on in Parliament next week and the crackdown, which was scheduled to begin in January, will now start on September 3.
Ms Macklin said it would enable people who were severely disabled and who legitimately could not work to be fast-tracked to the disability pension.
www.adelaidenow.com.au/prove-disability-or-go-to-work/story-e6frea6u-1226075235069
A CRACKDOWN on people on the disability support pension has found tens of thousands can work.
The crackdown will affect everyone under the age of 35 who claims the pension and all new applicants.
The government will interview former employers and investigate compensation claims and work history to test applicants' eligibility for the disability pension.
Communities Minister Jenny Macklin will also reverse the onus of proof for the 40,000 people a year who try to go straight from work to the $730-a-fortnight pension.
They will now have to prove they cannot work and will undergo a job capacity assessment.
If a person fails the assessment the Government will reject the claim and put them on the Newstart allowance, where they will have to look for a suitable job or rehabilitation program.
Before the crackdown, applicants for the pension did not face any test to determine if they could work.
All they needed was a certificate from their doctor.
As part of the crackdown, 18,000 applicants will be rejected outright and diverted to the Newstart allowance.
They will have to look for a job through an employment service, a disability employment service or vocational rehabilitation. All applicants or existing recipients under 35 will have to re-skill, attend rehabilitation or become a volunteer.
Analysis of new applicants showed many did not have a disability and could work.
"People with a capacity to work will no longer be able to go straight on to the disability pension," Ms Macklin said.
"They will need to make a genuine effort to get the help they need to be ready for work."
Without reforms, within three years the disability pension will cost taxpayers more than $15 billion a year. There are currently more than 815,000 people on the pension nationwide, including more than 250,000 in NSW.
The changes are due to be voted on in Parliament next week and the crackdown, which was scheduled to begin in January, will now start on September 3.
Ms Macklin said it would enable people who were severely disabled and who legitimately could not work to be fast-tracked to the disability pension.
www.adelaidenow.com.au/prove-disability-or-go-to-work/story-e6frea6u-1226075235069