Types of main benefits
You’ve got a serious illness, injury or disability
Qualifying for the Supported Living Payment
Social Security Act 2018, ss 34–37, 40–42 Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Act 1960, s 2 (definition of “sheltered workshop”)
You can apply for the Supported Living Payment if:
- you’re 16 or older, and
- your ability to work is permanently and severely restricted because of health condition, for example, you have a serious illness, injury or disability, or if you are totally blind.
You must be unable to regularly work more than 15 hours a week in “open” employment (see: “Key words”), and this incapacity must be expected to continue for at least two years.
You will need to supply medical evidence from a health practitioner to prove that you are severely and permanently restricted in your ability to work. You can use existing assessments or medical records, or you can ask your health practitioner to provide a medical certificate. Usually you can see your own health practitioner, but Work and Income can require you to see a different one, from a panel of doctors called “designated doctors”.
