• Table of Contents
• Disability Investment Group
• Executive Summary
• National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – A Possible Model
• Principal Recommendation
• Summary of Other Recommendations
• Section I
• Part 1: Experience of Disability in Australia
• Part 2: Need for Change
• Section II
• Part 3: Establishing a New National Disability Insurance Scheme
• Part 4: Ensuring Income Support is Adequate
• Part 5: Improving savings and taxation incentives for privately - funded services
• Section III
• Part 6: Providing More Housing for People with Disability
• Part 7: Offering Better Employment Opportunities
• Part 8: Building Research and Best Practice
• Appendices
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Appendix D
• Appendix E
• Appendix F
• Appendix G
• Appendix H
• Appendix I
• Appendix J

The Way Forward – A New Disability Policy Framework For Australia

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Part 4: Ensuring Income Support is Adequate

Key DIG findings

Public policy should fully support the reasonable aspirations of people with disability for economic independence. For most Australians this comes through work, and so it should be for people with disability. However, for people unable to support themselves fully through employment, income support is vital.

Eligibility for the Disability Support Pension (DSP) is based on an assessment of impairment that prevents individuals from working or re-skilling for work. Like many other income support payments, DSP is provided as an entitlement—that is, if a person meets the criteria they receive the payment.

Once a person is eligible for DSP as an adult, the amount of payment does not vary in relation to the degree of impairment or life stage. It is assumed that other needs such as care and support, aids, equipment and transport are met through service systems administered separately in each State and Territory.

Over the past decade, Australia has seen a 35 per cent increase in the numbers of DSP recipients and a 395 per cent increase in Carer Payment recipients.²⁷ Nearly 43 per cent of people with disability have their primary income via a pension or allowance, compared with 13.6 per cent of the general population.²⁸

The Pension Review

The DIG strongly supported the work of the recent Pension Review as part of the Review of Australia’s Future Tax System. The Review, led by Dr Jeff Harmer, Secretary, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), looked at measures to strengthen the financial security of seniors, carers and people with disability. The DIG urged the Pension Review to consider an adequate level of income support for people with disability and carers.

The background paper prepared by FaHCSIA for the Pension Review found that people on a DSP are among the poorest in the community and show greater signs of financial stress than single old age pensioners.

Disability leads to a much higher cost of living for many. During its consultations, the DIG repeatedly heard that ongoing costs of home modifications and purchase of aids and equipment drains the family budget. These items are not luxuries, they are necessities, and income support is not sufficient to provide an adequate standard of living for people with disability and their families. These additional costs vary considerably from person to person and so support needs to respond to individual needs.

The DIG notes the initiatives in the Commonwealth Government’s 2009-10 Budget which arose from the Pension Review report. These initiatives related to increases for recipients of a DSP and Carer Payment under the Australian Government's Secure and Sustainable Pension Reforms.

Under the new arrangements the government will provide an additional: $32.50 a week for single pensioners on the full rate of pension; and $10.15 a week for pensioner couples. The government will also provide carers with a new annual Carer Supplement of $600.

While these increases are welcome, the DIG believes that the adequacy of income support for people with disability and carers should continue to be closely monitored.

The DIG has not recommended inclusion of income support in a NDIS. However, as noted earlier, it would be useful for the feasibility study to consider this issue and whether there would be benefits in having a more fully integrated scheme.

27. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs 2008, Pension Review Background Paper, p.32.
28. ABS 2003.

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