Terminal illness reviews for Carer Payment (CP) (adult) 009-08060060

For the purposes of Carer Allowance (CA) (adult) and CP (adult) a terminal condition is where a person aged 16 years or over is in the final phase of a terminal illness and is not expected to live more than 3 months.

Where a medical practitioner has certified the adult care receiver is terminally ill, they do not have to undergo the Adult Disability Assessment Tool (ADAT) assessment, as payment can be granted automatically, provided the carer meets all other eligibility criteria.

Adult Terminal Illness Reviews are no longer generated 12 months after the date of grant. Adult Terminal Illness reviews are generated 24 months after the grant and every 12 months thereafter from the Date of event recorded on the care receiver's medical details screen (ADMD).

Terminal illness reviews for CP adult do not apply to CP (XWP) - Carer Payment (CP) that is paid under grandfathering provisions for ceased Wife Pension carers. However, if a CP (XWP) carer gets CA for an adult who is terminally ill, they will be subject to a CA adult terminal illness review. For more information, see Transfer from Wife Pension (WP) to Carer Payment (CP).

The manual review process is initially conducted via telephone. If the care receiver is alive at the 24 month review, it will be necessary to issue medical review forms to the carer, as the circumstances of the care receiver's illness may have changed. The medical review forms, when returned, will be used to assess qualification under the ADAT.

The manner in which terminal illness reviews are conducted is important. As the purpose of the review is to determine if the care receiver is still alive, this is obviously a very sensitive issue. Due to this sensitivity, these reviews should be approached as a courtesy call to see how the carer is coping with their caring responsibilities and to check their circumstances still qualify them for the assistance being received.