Skip to navigation Skip to content

Eligibility for Carer Payment (CP) under the Lower Adult Disability Assessment (ADAT) Tool 009-04010010

Expand/Collapse all sectionsExpand all



This document explains details about eligibility for Carer Payment (CP) because constant care is provided for a disabled adult and that adult's dependent child.

On this page:

Income, assets and family circumstances assessment for CP claims

Assessment of the medical report for CP claims

Income, assets and family circumstances assessment for CP claims

Table 1: this table describes how to assess the carer and care receiver's income, assets and family circumstances when determining eligibility to CP when care is provided for a disabled adult and their dependent child.

Expand table

Step

Action

1

Does the adult care receiver provide care for a dependent child?

2

Is the dependent child aged 6 or over?

3

Does the dependent child attract payment of Carer Allowance (CA) (child)?

4

Care receiver has a dependent child

To reach this step, the care receiver will have a dependent child who is either:

  • aged under 6, or
  • aged 6 to less than 16 and who is attracting a payment of CA (child)

Note: from this step onwards, the care receiver referred to is the adult care receiver, and the carer is the carer of the adult care receiver.

5

Is the care provided in the residence of the care receiver?

6

Care not provided in the residence of the care receiver

Is the care not being provided in the residence of the care receiver because the care receiver is absent from the home as they are hospitalised and the carer is participating in their treatment?

7

Pensions income and assets test for the carer

Does the carer meet the pensions income and assets test? Note: if the carer is currently on another pension type and paid under the transitional rules the income test is not the same as the current pension income test.

8

Financial circumstances of the care receiver

Is the care receiver either:

  • in receipt of a Social Security pension or benefit, or a Service Pension or Income Support Supplement (ISS) or Veteran Payment, or
  • would be receiving such a payment if they had been an Australian resident for a long enough period?

Note: CA is not 1 of the payment types mentioned above.

9

Does the care receiver meet the non-customer care receiver Income and Assets Test?

For more details, see Components of the Care Receiver Income and Assets (CRIA) test.


Assessment of the medical report for CP claims

Table 2: this table describes how to assess a Carer Payment and/or Carer Allowance - Medical Report (for a person 16 years or over) form (SA332a).

Expand table

Step

Action

1

Medical report

Has the SA332(a) form been returned?

  • Yes, go to Step 2
  • No, processing of the new claim cannot continue until the Medical Report is returned. Inform the carer of this fact and issue the SA332(a). When the SA332(a) is returned, go to Step 2

2

Do the Treating Health Professional's (THP) responses on the form indicate that care is required for at least 6 months?

3

What is the THP''s score?

4

ADAT score based on THP's score does not attract CP for carer

The CP claim should be manually rejected.

Make genuine attempts to contact the carer to advise of the unfavourable decision. Record details on a DOC in the carer's record. For more details, see Advising verbally of an unfavourable decision (CLK).

Procedure ends here.

5

Calculate the total ADAT score

Calculate the total ADAT score, which is the total achieved when the scores from the THP and carer questionnaires are combined.

6

Total ADAT score not sufficient to attract CP

The total ADAT score is not sufficient to attract CP for the carer. The CP claim should be manually rejected. Make genuine attempts to contact the carer to tell of the unfavourable decision. Record details on a DOC in the carer's record. For more details, see Advising verbally of an unfavourable decision (CLK).

Procedure ends here.

7

Check THP's responses on SA332(a)

Has the THP responded No or Unsure on the SA332(a) to either of the following questions:

'Does the person require help on a daily basis because of their disability and/or medical condition(s) to carry out routine personal activities OR because they may be at risk to themselves or to others?'

'Is this care required for a significant period each day (at least the equivalent of a normal working day)?'

8

Making an assessment
  • The THP's responses should not be an automatic assessment that constant care is not being provided
  • The decision maker (DM) will need to make an assessment based on the total level of care provided to the care receiver, that is, a carer should reasonably be expected to provide at least the equivalent of a normal working day in personal care
  • When coding the CP claim the review officer's determination if the constant care qualifications are met should be recorded on the Care Receiver Care & Institution Details (CRCI) screen

9

Code the claim for CP

For more details, see Coding a paper claim for Carer Payment (CP) where the care receiver is 16 years of age or over.

Record details on a DOC in the carer's record.