HANDOUTS will be slashed and eligibility tightened as the Abbott Government eyes off welfare wastelands draining the budget of billions of dollars. Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews has given his strongest indication that a crackdown on welfare is coming - and in his crosshairs are the 822,000 Australians receiving the disability support pension. Mr Andrews has begun a review of the system with government agencies and the not-for-profit sector in a bid to curb a welfare blowout. The review will help guide the extensive reforms, which could be rolled out as a matter of urgency. Those on a disability pension - now one in 20 working-aged Australians - face being booted off the entitlement and moved on to Newstart, which is less money and requires people to more actively look for employment. Some doctors could also be stripped of their ability to assess patients as concerns grow about some overworked or lazy medicos not properly scrutinising claims. It comes as the Government and the Human Services Department have been tipped off about people claiming the disability pension while being involved in physical criminal activity. Key details of the Governments 2013 disability support pension report, exclusively obtained by The Sunday Mail, shows that just in the past financial year alone, $15 billion was paid out to almost 821,738 recipients - a 22 per cent increase in 10 years (673,334). One-third of the disability pensioners claim they cannot work full time because they severely depressed, anxious or a debilitating mental illness. While having a ``bad back was often cited as the reason for not being able to work, the greatest category of people now claim to have a psychological illness. Fears are growing that too many recipients are getting too much money because they are on the wrong type welfare benefit because they have been able to game the system. A single disability pensioner gets a maximum of $751 plus a $61 supplement a fortnight. A single person on Newstart gets $500. Mr Andrews told The Sunday Mail the safety net would be there for people who had a genuine a disability. ``The Coalition Government is committed to improving opportunities for Australians with a disability participate in work, Mr Andrews said. ``We are consulting with stakeholders including employers to seek their ideas on ways to improve opportunities for Australians with a disability to participate in work. It is likely reforms will go beyond disability payments and include a broadening of quarantined payments for areas outside indigenous Australia. Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton said doctors knew their patients well. ``Doctors have got no reason to second guess their patients, Dr Hambleton said. ``Doctors arent the policeman of the department; they are the advocate of the patient. ``GPs dont have private investigators . About 270,000 people are on disability pension in NSW, 200,000 in Victoria, 163,000 in Queensland, 76,000 in South Australia and 64,000 in Western Australia. Human Services Minister Marise Payne said the Coalition is serious about tackling welfare fraud, including people wrongly claiming the Disability Support Pension (DSP) or any other payment. My department has sophisticated data-matching and fraud-detection systems, so if you cheat the system, chances are we will catch you, Senator Payne said. The DSP is only available for people with a permanent, fully diagnosed medical condition likely to last more than two years. The former Gillard government introduced policies to get more people on the disability pension to work more hours. The Department of Human Services received more than 55,000 tip-offs through the Australian Government Services Fraud Tip-off Line in 2012-13. Ms Payne urged anyone who was aware of others cheating the system to call the anonymous Australian Government Services Fraud Tip-off Line on 131 524. This information helps to make the system fairer for everyone, she said. Fast facts about DSP •To be eligible for a DSP you must have a permanent, fully diagnosed, treated and stabilised medical condition likely to last more than two years without any significant improvement. •You also must have participated in a Program of Support (unless exempt), where trained allied health professionals tailor a program to help you find and maintain work. •Claimants must have a minimum score on the Impairment Tables. These tables are designed to assess impairment in relation to work. They consist of a set of tables that assign ratings in proportion to the severity or impact of the impairment on function as it relates to work performance. Medical eligibility for DSP is assessed by experienced allied health professionals using clear guidelines to assess DSP claimants work capacity. •A doctors certificate advising the medical condition of an applicant for Disability Support Pension is just one piece of evidence that is assessed by the Department of Human Services in regards to a persons eligibility for DSP. couriermail.au/news/federal-government-has-welfare-rorts-in-sights-as-eligibility-tightened/story-fnihsrk2-1226761822856
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 22:19:53 +0000
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