Child Disability Assessment Tool (CDAT) prior to 1 July 2010 009-05010000

From 1 July 2010, the Disability Care Load Assessment (child) Determination (DCLAD) (2020) will be used to assess eligibility for all new claims for Carer Payment (CP) (child) and/or Carer Allowance (CA) (child).

The CDAT is not to be used for any claims or reviews after 1 July 2010.

The overall CDAT score is calculated to determine if the care receiver qualifies a carer for CA (child).

The Treating Health Professional (THP) score is used as part of the qualification for Carer Payment (CP) (child). For more information, see Eligibility for Carer Payment (CP) when a care receiver is aged under 16.

CA (auto) is automatically available to all recipients of Carer Payment (CP) (child). The THP score is required, and this is taken from the Carer Payment Medical Report including functional assessment for a child under 16 years (SA397) or the Carer Allowance Medical Report for a child under 16 years (SA333TDR). For customers not eligible for Carer Payment (child), the CDAT will continue to apply from 1 July 2009 until the care receiver is first reviewed after 1 July 2010.

If the carer is only claiming CA (child) and the child has a recognised disability, the Treating Health Professional does not have to complete the CDAT questions included on the TDR. However, there needs to be written evidence of diagnosis of a Recognised Disability by a medical practitioner because a child with a recognised disability does not have to be assessed under the CDAT. This also means that the functional assessment is not required.

If the carer claims CP (child) and the care receiver has a Recognised Disability the SA397 must be completed by the Treating Health Professional, as the THP score is used as part of the qualification for CP (child). If the care receiver already has a current THP score and this is above 0 only the Carer Payment Medical Report (for a child under 16 years) (SA398) is required as the current THP score would be used as part of the qualifications for CP (child).

Note: when a record is being updated and it is the case that the carer of a child with a recognised disability is receiving CA (child) Health Care Card only, it is essential that the Service Officer check whether the customer should also be receiving CA payment.

The CDAT is a process through which a young person's ability can be assessed and the level of disability objectively determined. It assists staff in Service Centres to measure the level of functional ability or disability of a young person against standards appropriate to their age in the areas of:

• communication
• feeding
• self-care
• social and community skills and
• mobility

The CDAT also takes into account the young person's behaviour and special care needs. It is designed to identify a significant level of disability regardless of the type of disability or condition.

It does not measure the care and attention required by the child and because of its specific purpose, does not attempt to measure all possible functional abilities.

The CDAT consists of:

• The SA333TDR, which must be certified by a Treating Health Professional.
• The SA397 which must be certified by a Treating Health Professional. This is only used for CP and is not used for CA.
• the Carer Allowance Functional Assessment for a child under 16 years (SA394 v0907) is to be completed by the carer of the child and provides details of care provided (issued only if score based on Treating Health Professional responses is greater than zero).

If there are inconsistencies between the carer's responses and those of the Treating Health Professional, or if verification is required, a process called 'validation' is applied as part of the CDAT process. Information regarding validation can be found in Policy on the References page.

The CDAT is a system based tool, i.e. the answers to questions are coded on a screen in the Centrelink system. The system then calculates the results. While the system calculates the scores in the CDAT, the scores are actually derived from information provided by the carer and the Treating Health Professional. To qualify a carer for payment, the child must have a score of +1 or higher under the CDAT, including a THP score above zero.

Carers who are current or suspended on 30 June 2010 and who were:

• granted CP (child) under the DCLAD (2009) or CA (child) under the Child Disability Assessment Determination (CDAD) (2001) will maintain qualification and payability under their existing provisions. This remains until they are selected for review under DCLAD 2020 or lose qualification on or after 1 July 2010. This group of care receivers will not appear on the Carer Payment Grandfathered (CRGF) screen
• granted CP (child) due to caring for a Profoundly Disabled Child (PDC), or two children who require the equivalent care of a PDC, will maintain qualification and payability under PDC provisions until they are selected for review under DCLAD 2020 or lose qualification on or after 1 July 2010. Carers in this group who reclaim CP (child) for the same care receiver from 1 July 2010 to 17 August 2020 will be required to provide a DCLAD (2020) care load assessment and medical report. These groups of care receivers will appear on the  CRGF  screen

From 1 July 2010 a Disability Care Load Assessment Determination (DCLAD) (2010) must be completed for each care receiver as part of the claim for CA and/or Carer Payment (CP).