Characteristics of Disability Support Pension Customers, June 2002

Table of Contents

• Overview
• 1. Disability Support Pension Population Characteristics
• 2. Medical Condition
• 3. Earnings and Duration on Income Support
• 4. New Claims
• 5. Where DSP Recipients are Coming From and Going To

Disability Support Pension - Overview

Who is this Payment for?

Disability Support Pension (DSP) is paid to people who are unable to work for at least 30 hours per week, or be re-skilled for such work, for more than two years because of a disability. DSP is intended to ensure that people with disabilities have adequate levels of income and maximum opportunities to participate in society.

 

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for DSP a person must:

• be over 16 and be under Age Pension age (currently 62 for women and 65 for men); and
• be permanently blind; or
• have a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment (assessed at 20 points or more under the Impairment Tables); and be unable to do any work, or be re-skilled for any work, for a period of at least two years; and
• have become unable to work while in Australia, or have 10 years qualifying Australian residence.

 

Trends

As at June 2002, there were 658,915 people receiving DSP. Two thirds of these customers were aged over 45 years; 62% were male; 72% were born in Australia; only 9.7% had income from employment though 16% were on reduced rates due to their or their partner's income or assets; and, on average, they had been in continuous receipt of DSP for 7 years. The three main medical conditions are musculo-skeletal or connective tissue conditions, representing 33% of the total DSP population, psychological/psychiatric conditions, representing 24%, and intellectual/learning difficulties, representing 10%.

Since 1972 the DSP customer population has been steadily increasing, with the greatest growth, of 13%, occurring in the 1991-92 financial year following the introduction of the Disability Reform Package. In recent years, this growth slowed to a rate of around 4% each year but has increased again in 2001-02 to 5.6%. The proportion of females is also increasing and females now represent 38% of the total DSP population.

Over 88,000 claims for DSP were granted in the 2001-02 financial year and over 42,000 claims were rejected (32.5% of total claims processed). Lack of medical eligibility was the main reason for rejecting a claim for DSP.

Over half of people coming onto Disability Support Pension are coming from other income support payments with the main payments being Newstart of Youth Allowance (37%), Parenting Payments (5%) and Sickness Allowance (4%). 44% were not previously in receipt of another Centrelink payment.

This report was prepared by the Disability Payments Section, Office of Disability.

1:Disability Support Pension Population Characteristics

1.1 Customers by Gender 1972 to 2002

As at June 2002, the number of people receiving Disability Support Pension (DSP) was 658,915 and has been steadily increasing since 1972, with the greatest growth period (13%) occurring in 1992 following the introduction of the Disability Reform Package. In recent years, the growth rate slowed to around 4%, but has increased in the 2001-02 financial year to 5.6%.

A number of factors have been suggested as contributing to the increases in the DSP customer numbers in the last decade:

• changed eligibility criteria for disability payments following the introduction of the Disability Reform Package;
• loss of access to other forms of support such as Veterans' Affairs Service Pension, Widow B and Wife Pension;
• increases in the Age Pension qualifying age for females;
• demographic effects such as the ageing of the population; and
• changes in the labour market which have resulted in a reduced capacity for people with disabilities to retain or find work.

The proportion of the DSP population that is female has been increasing, from a low of 26% in 1989 to the current figure of 38% of the DSP population.

Source: Characteristics of Disability Support Pension Customers (June 2001); Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 1.1: Disability Support Pension Customers by Gender: 1972 to 2002

At June each year	Males			Females			Total Persons
	Count	Change	% of total	Count	Change	% of total	Count	% growth
1972	77,133		55.56%	61,685		44.44%	138,818
1973	85,305	8,172	57.02%	64,304	2,619	42.98%	149,609	7.77%
1974	92,140	6,835	58.77%	64,643	339	41.23%	156,783	4.80%
1975	102,817	10,677	60.92%	65,967	1,324	39.08%	168,784	7.65%
1976	116,118	13,301	63.18%	67,669	1,702	36.82%	183,787	8.89%
1977	133,209	17,091	65.63%	69,754	2,085	34.37%	202,963	10.43%
1978	137,245	4,036	66.97%	67,699	-2,055	33.03%	204,944	0.98%
1979	149,759	12,514	68.12%	70,084	2,385	31.88%	219,843	7.27%
1980	158,327	8,568	69.07%	70,892	808	30.93%	229,219	4.26%
1981	153,889	-4,438	69.33%	68,062	-2,830	30.67%	221,951	-3.17%
1982	151,146	-2,743	69.77%	65,503	-2,559	30.23%	216,649	-2.39%
1983	155,672	4,526	70.67%	64,617	-886	29.33%	220,289	1.68%
1984	173,063	17,391	71.94%	67,511	2,894	28.06%	240,574	9.21%
1985	188,713	15,650	72.82%	70,449	2,938	27.18%	259,162	7.73%
1986	200,898	12,185	73.37%	72,912	2,463	26.63%	273,810	5.65%
1987	213,290	12,392	73.79%	75,760	2,848	26.21%	289,050	5.57%
1988	219,168	5,878	73.82%	77,745	1,985	26.18%	296,913	2.72%
1989	227,285	8,117	73.84%	80,510	2,765	26.16%	307,795	3.67%
1990	233,251	5,966	73.65%	83,462	2,952	26.35%	316,713	2.90%
1991	244,699	11,448	73.21%	89,535	6,073	26.79%	334,234	5.53%
1992	273,697	28,998	72.30%	104,861	15,326	27.70%	378,558	13.26%
1993	291,471	17,774	71.69%	115,101	10,240	28.31%	406,572	7.40%
1994	309,123	17,652	70.86%	127,111	12,010	29.14%	436,234	7.30%
1995	324,672	15,549	69.91%	139,758	12,647	30.09%	464,430	6.46%
1996	340,256	15,584	68.16%	158,979	19,221	31.84%	499,235	7.49%
1997	352,607	12,351	66.84%	174,907	15,928	33.16%	527,514	5.66%
1998	361,539	8,932	65.34%	191,797	16,890	34.66%	553,336	4.90%
1999	373,340	11,801	64.63%	204,342	12,545	35.37%	577,682	4.40%
2000	382,351	9,011	63.48%	219,929	15,587	36.52%	602,280	4.26%
2001	392,354	10,003	62.88%	231,572	11,643	37.12%	623,926	3.59%
2002	406,893	14,539	61.75%	252,022	20,450	38.25%	658,915	5.61%

Source: Characteristics of Disability Support Pension Customers (June 2001); Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

1.2 Customers by Age and Gender

People age 55 years and over represent 40% of the overall DSP customer population. The very small proportion of females in the 60 to 64 years age group is due to the lower Age Pension qualifying age for women. As the qualifying age increases for females, it is expected that this age group will grow and eventually exceed the number in the 55 to 59 years age group. The qualifying age for women is currently 62 years. The trend in the graph below is consistent with the trend for all Australians with a disability, which shows that the occurrence of a disability increases with age.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 1.2: Disability Support Pension Customers by Age and Gender: June 2002

AGE	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
16-19	9,648	2.37%	6,436	2.55%	16,084	2.44%
20-24	15,065	3.70%	10,827	4.30%	25,892	3.93%
25-29	17,585	4.32%	11,942	4.74%	29,527	4.48%
30-34	23,754	5.84%	15,398	6.11%	39,152	5.94%
35-39	30,387	7.47%	18,704	7.42%	49,091	7.45%
40-44	38,433	9.45%	25,531	10.13%	63,964	9.71%
45-49	43,334	10.65%	32,979	13.09%	76,313	11.58%
50-54	52,832	12.98%	45,050	17.88%	97,882	14.86%
55-59	73,811	18.14%	59,352	23.55%	133,163	20.21%
60-64	98,886	24.30%	25,503	10.12%	124,389	18.88%
65+	3,158	0.78%	300	0.12%	3,458	0.52%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

 

1.3 Customers by Geographic State

As expected the majority of DSP customers can be found in the more populous Australian States. New South Wales is the largest with 33% of the DSP population, while the Northern Territory is the smallest with 0.8%.

When compared with the ABS Census 2001, the proportion of DSP customers living in Tasmania and South Australia is higher than the proportion of the total Australian population in these States.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 1.3: Disability Support Pension Customers by State for June 2002

STATE	Males	%	Females	%	Total DSP	DSP %	ABS Census 2001
New South Wales	134,452	33.04%	82,029	32.55%	216,481	32.85%	33.58%
Victoria	92,530	22.74%	62,055	24.62%	154,585	23.46%	24.48%
Queensland	78,253	19.23%	46,137	18.31%	124,390	18.88%	19.27%
South Australia	38,340	9.42%	24,501	9.72%	62,841	9.54%	7.73%
Western Australian	33,958	8.35%	20,987	8.33%	54,945	8.34%	9.76%
Tasmania	14,331	3.52%	8,629	3.42%	22,960	3.48%	2.41%
Australian Capital Territory	3,766	0.93%	2,902	1.15%	6,668	1.01%	1.64%
Northern Territory	3,359	0.83%	1,860	0.74%	5,219	0.79%	1.11%
International Services	7,690	1.89%	2,827	1.12%	10,517	1.60%	0.01%
Unknown	214	0.05%	95	0.04%	309	0.05%	0.01%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/02; ABS Census of Population and Housing 2015.0, 2001

 

1.4 Customers by Country of Birth

The majority of DSP customers were born in Australia (72.3%). The next largest group was those born in the United Kingdom (6.3%).

When compared with ABS Census 2001, countries such as Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Turkey and Germany are over-represented on DSP.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 1.4: Disability Support Pension Customers by Country of Birth: June 2002

COUNTRY OF BIRTH	Males	%	Females	%	Total DSP	DSP %	ABS Census 2001
Australia	289,169	71.07%	187,296	74.32%	476,465	72.31%	71.84%
UK (inc. Ireland)	26,739	6.57%	14,454	5.74%	41,193	6.25%	5.73%
Greece	9,821	2.41%	5,520	2.19%	15,341	2.33%	0.61%
Yugoslavia	9,759	2.40%	4,738	1.88%	14,497	2.20%	0.29%
Italy	9,561	2.35%	4,491	1.78%	14,052	2.13%	1.15%
New Zealand	5,909	1.45%	3,632	1.44%	9,541	1.45%	1.88%
Lebanon	6,109	1.50%	2,458	0.98%	8,567	1.30%	0.38%
Malta	4,592	1.13%	1,623	0.64%	6,215	0.94%	0.25%
Turkey	3,360	0.83%	2,517	1.00%	5,877	0.89%	0.16%
Germany	3,659	0.90%	2,006	0.80%	5,665	0.86%	0.57%
Other	38,215	9.39%	23,287	9.24%	61,502	9.33%	17.15%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/02; ABS Census of Population and Housing 2015.0, 2001

 

1.5 Customers by Marital Status and Gender

The majority of DSP customers are not partnered (61.9%) with females more likely to not have a partner than males (69.7% of the female population are not partnered, compared to 57.1% of males). Proportionally, males and females are similar in the defacto category. Males are more likely than females to be married or single while females are more likely to be divorced, separated or widowed.

The higher percentages of divorced, separated and widowed women could be the result of a number of factors:

• Women who have separated from a spouse who was the main income earner which resulted in them having to seek income support;
• The closing off of payments such as Widow B Pension; and
• The shorter lifespan of men increasing the probability of widowhood among women.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 1.5: Disability Support Pension Customers by Marital Status and Gender: June 2002

MARITAL STATUS	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
Defacto	15,513	3.81%	9,663	3.83%	25,176	3.82%
Divorced	17,376	4.27%	24,174	9.59%	41,550	6.31%
Married	159,061	39.09%	66,783	26.50%	225,844	34.28%
Separated	57,571	14.15%	49,256	19.54%	106,827	16.21%
Single	152,071	37.37%	87,914	34.88%	239,985	36.42%
Widow	5,301	1.30%	14,232	5.65%	19,533	2.96%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

1.6 Customers by Gender and Home Ownership

The majority of DSP customers do not own their home (62.7%). Males receiving DSP are marginally more likely to own a home (including paying it off) than females.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 1.6: Disability Support Pension Customers by Gender and Homeownership: June 2002

HOUSING STATUS	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
Home owner	152,650	37.52%	88,228	35.01%	240,878	36.56%
Non homeowner	251,324	61.77%	161,854	64.22%	413,178	62.71%
Not coded	2,919	0.72%	1,940	0.77%	4,859	0.74%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

 

1.7 Customers by Age and Home Ownership

DSP customers who own their own home or are paying it off tend to be skewed towards the older age groups with the 55+ age groups containing more homeowners than non-homeowners.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 1.7: Disability Support Pension Customers and Home ownership by Age: June 2002

AGE	Home owner	%	Non home owner	%	Not coded	%	Total	%
16-19	130	0.05%	15,945	3.86%	9	0.19%	16,084	2.44%
20-24	439	0.18%	25,428	6.15%	25	0.51%	25,892	3.93%
25-29	1,389	0.58%	28,096	6.80%	42	0.86%	29,527	4.48%
30-34	3,839	1.59%	35,231	8.53%	82	1.69%	39,152	5.94%
35-39	7,828	3.25%	41,122	9.95%	141	2.90%	49,091	7.45%
40-44	14,528	6.03%	49,159	11.90%	277	5.70%	63,964	9.71%
45-49	23,106	9.59%	52,744	12.77%	463	9.53%	76,313	11.58%
50-54	39,730	16.49%	57,277	13.86%	875	18.01%	97,882	14.86%
55-59	70,248	29.16%	61,483	14.88%	1,432	29.47%	133,163	20.21%
60-64	77,751	32.28%	45,146	10.93%	1,492	30.71%	124,389	18.88%
65+	1,890	0.78%	1,547	0.37%	21	0.43%	3,458	0.52%
Total	240,878	100.00%	413,178	100.00%	4,859	100.00%	658,915	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

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2:Medical Condition

2.1 Customers by Medical Condition

With the introduction of the DSP in 1991, the medical condition of customers was collected and recorded on their administrative file. Many of those customers who were already on payment have had their condition recorded or have left payment, although a significant number still have their medical condition unclassified (such as Invalid Pensioners who were granted prior to 12.11.91 who comprise 7% of the DSP population as at June 2002).

The medical conditions reported here represent the primary condition that is recorded on a customer's record. A customer may have multiple medical conditions but only the primary condition will be recorded.

The three largest groups are customers with Musculo-skeletal, Psychological/ Psychiatric or Intellectual/Learning medical conditions.

10,102 DSP customers are identified as being blind.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

 

2.2 Customers by Medical Condition and Gender

Males and females show a similar distribution of medical conditions. The only noticeable differences (ie. a greater than 2 percentage point difference) are in regards to Psychological/Psychiatric customers (26.0% female compared to 22.2% male), those with circulatory conditions (6.6% male and 3.4% female) and those with musculo-skeletal conditions (34.2% male and 32.0% female).

There is also a greater percentage of males who were former Invalid Pension recipients than females and therefore do not have their medical condition coded. This needs to be taken into account when interpreting the data as this may contribute to situations where the percentage of females with a particular condition appears greater than the percentage of males.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 2.1: Disability Support Pension Customers by Gender and Medical Condition: June 2002

MEDICAL CONDITION	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
Acquired brain impairment	11,973	2.94%	4,693	1.86%	16,666	2.53%
Amputation	1,374	0.34%	311	0.12%	1,685	0.26%
Cancer/tumour	7,033	1.73%	5,798	2.30%	12,831	1.95%
Chronic fatigue/post viral syndrome	2,584	0.64%	3,655	1.45%	6,239	0.95%
Congenital abnormality	5,827	1.43%	4,888	1.94%	10,715	1.63%
Chronic pain	2,234	0.55%	2,513	1.00%	4,747	0.72%
Circulatory system	26,994	6.63%	8,491	3.37%	35,485	5.39%
Endocrine and immune system	9,108	2.24%	5,935	2.35%	15,043	2.28%
Intellectual/learning	38,712	9.51%	28,378	11.26%	67,090	10.18%
Musculo-skeletal and connective tissue	139,198	34.21%	80,542	31.96%	219,740	33.35%
Nervous system	10,993	2.70%	9,512	3.77%	20,505	3.11%
Psychological/psychiatric	90,531	22.25%	65,467	25.98%	155,998	23.67%
Respiratory system	11,973	2.94%	7,799	3.09%	19,772	3.00%
Skin disorders and burns	1,003	0.25%	674	0.27%	1,677	0.25%
Sense organs	8,753	2.15%	5,888	2.34%	14,641	2.22%
Granted prior to 12.11.91	32,919	8.09%	13,291	5.27%	46,210	7.01%
Visceral disorder	5,460	1.34%	4,000	1.59%	9,460	1.44%
Not coded	224	0.06%	187	0.07%	411	0.06%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

2.3 Customers by Musculo-skeletal, Psychological/Psychiatric and Intellectual Medical Conditions

The age distribution for Musculo-skeletal customers is skewed strongly towards the older age groups. This indicates a strong correlation between this type of condition and age.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Psychological/Psychiatric conditions also show a high representation in the older age groups but substantial numbers are in the younger age groups, leading to a more even distribution.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Customers with Intellectual or Learning disabilities vary again in that they are skewed towards the younger age groups. The majority of these customers are born with their condition and may suffer a reduced lifespan as a result of their condition. This is reflected in information on duration on DSP for customers with these disabilities, where over half have been on payment for 10 years or more.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

A comparison of the age distributions of the total DSP population to customers granted in the 2001-02 financial year shows that:

• new customers with musculo-skeletal conditions have similar age distributions to the overall DSP population with the same condition;
• new customers with psychological/psychiatric conditions tend to be in the younger age groups (less than 45 years old) than the overall DSP population with the same condition; and
• new customers with Intellectual/Learning difficulties show a higher proportion of young customers (under 20 years) coming onto payment.

Source: Superstar Common Events Databases 14/07/01 to 16/06/2002

 

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3:Earnings, Payment Rates and Duration

3.1 Customers with Earnings from Employment

Only a small percentage of DSP customers have earnings related to work (9.7%). This has increased from 8.4% in June 2000 and 9.1% in June 2001. The majority of customers have earnings in the lower income ranges. A small group of customers, comprising 18.9% of all those with earned income, earn in excess of $300 per week.

Under the current income test, a single DSP customer can earn up to $58 per week without their rate of payment being reduced. A couple can have a combined income of $102 per fortnight before the DSP customer's rate of payment is affected. Customers receiving allowances, such as Newstart Allowance, have lower income free thresholds. A Newstart Allowance customer can earn up to $31 per week before their rate of payment is affected.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 3.1: Disability Support Pension Customers by Earned Income Range: June 2002

EARNINGS	Male	Earned only %	Female	Earned only %	Total	Earned only %	Total %
No earnings	368,170	na	226,880	na	595,050	na	90.31%
<$25pw	5,289	13.66%	3,871	15.40%	9,160	14.34%	1.39%
<$50pw	6,843	17.67%	4,689	18.65%	11,532	18.06%	1.75%
<$75pw	5,655	14.60%	3,538	14.07%	9,193	14.39%	1.40%
<$100pw	3,502	9.04%	1,842	7.33%	5,344	8.37%	0.81%
<$150pw	4,072	10.52%	2,585	10.28%	6,657	10.42%	1.01%
<$200pw	2,245	5.80%	1,749	6.96%	3,994	6.25%	0.61%
<$250pw	1,870	4.83%	1,442	5.74%	3,312	5.19%	0.50%
<$300pw	1,435	3.71%	1,159	4.61%	2,594	4.06%	0.39%
$300+pw	7,812	20.17%	4,267	16.97%	12,079	18.91%	1.83%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

When comparing the characteristics of DSP customers with earnings from employment to the characteristics of the overall DSP population it was found that:

• Single customers were more likely to have employment earnings. Single customers represented nearly 50% of the customers with employment earnings but only represented 36% of the total DSP population.
• Customers with intellectual or learning disabilities were also more likely to have employment income though the majority only had earnings of less than $75 per week. These customers represented 22% of customers with employment earnings but only represented 10% of the total DSP population.
• Customers aged less than 50 years were more likely to have earnings from employment than older customers. 63% of customers with employment income were aged less than 50 years but customers less than 50 only represented 46% of the total population.

 

3.2 Customers with Maximum/Reduced Rates of Payment

The majority of DSP recipients (83.9%) receive a full rate of pension. Customers may be receiving a part rate of payment due to:

• their income from employment or other investments;
• partner income from employment or other investments;
• repaying a debt; or
• repaying an advance.

Although only 9.7% of DSP customers have income from employment, there is a significant proportion (80.5%) that has income from other sources, such as superannuation, savings or income from investments. The majority of these customers have income below the income free threshold ($58 per week for a single customer) and therefore receive the maximum rate of DSP.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 3.2: Disability Support Pension Customers by Maximum Rate Indicator: June 2002

MAX RATE IND.	Male	%	Female	%	Count	%
Maximum rate	343,773	84.49%	208,810	82.85%	552,583	83.86%
Reduced rate	63,120	15.51%	43,212	17.15%	106,332	16.14%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

 

3.3 Customers by Current Duration on Payment and Gender

The distribution of duration on payment shows that the largest category is customers who have been continuously receiving DSP for 4 to 5 years, representing 13.9% of all DSP recipients. There is a significant group that have been on DSP for two years or less (33.4%). There is also a significant proportion of customers who have been in continuous receipt of DSP for 10 years or more (25% of all DSP customers).

The average length of time a customer spends on DSP continuously is 7 years, with no significant difference between males and females.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 3.3: Disability Support Pension Customers by Duration on Payment and Gender: June 2002

Duration	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
< 1 year	53,492	13.15%	32,863	13.04%	86,355	13.11%
1 year	44,800	11.01%	28,991	11.50%	73,791	11.20%
2 years	35,223	8.66%	24,661	9.79%	59,884	9.09%
3 years	32,845	8.07%	22,275	8.84%	55,120	8.37%
4 to 5 years	55,065	13.53%	36,362	14.43%	91,427	13.88%
6 to 7 years	49,051	12.06%	27,486	10.91%	76,537	11.62%
8 to 9 years	32,688	8.03%	18,559	7.36%	51,247	7.78%
10 years	16,065	3.95%	8,505	3.37%	24,570	3.73%
11 to 15 years	37,545	9.23%	20,881	8.29%	58,426	8.87%
16 to 20 years	22,334	5.49%	11,565	4.59%	33,899	5.14%
> 20 years	27,785	6.83%	19,874	7.89%	47,659	7.23%
Total	406,893	100.00%	252,022	100.00%	658,915	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

3.4 Customers by Current Duration on Payment and Gender by those aged below 50 and those aged 50 years and over

DSP customers aged 50 years or over make up over half of the total DSP population. DSP customers over 50 years tend to have been on payment for longer periods than customers aged less than 50 years.

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

Table 3.4 Disability Support Pension Customers by Gender and Duration with a 50 Year Age Split: June 2002

	<50 yrs				50+ yrs
Duration	Male	Female	Total	% of total <50 yrs	Male	Female	Total	% of total 50+ yrs
< 1 year	27,811	17,747	45,558	15.18%	25,681	15,116	40,797	11.37%
1 year	22,061	14,922	36,983	12.33%	22,739	14,069	36,808	10.26%
2 years	16,715	12,185	28,900	9.63%	18,508	12,476	30,984	8.63%
3 years	14,455	10,324	24,779	8.26%	18,390	11,951	30,341	8.45%
4 to 5 years	23,010	16,349	39,359	13.12%	32,055	20,013	52,068	14.51%
6 to 7 years	18,026	11,913	29,939	9.98%	31,025	15,573	46,598	12.98%
8 to 9 years	12,903	8,160	21,063	7.02%	19,785	10,399	30,184	8.41%
10 years	6,535	3,734	10,269	3.42%	9,530	4,771	14,301	3.98%
11 to 15 years	15,448	10,023	25,471	8.49%	22,097	10,858	32,955	9.18%
16 to 20 years	9,120	6,408	15,528	5.18%	13,214	5,157	18,371	5.12%
> 20 years	12,122	10,052	22,174	7.39%	15,663	9,822	25,485	7.10%
Total	178,206	121,817	300,023	100.00%	228,687	130,205	358,892	100.00%

Source: Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/2002

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4:New Claims

4.1 New Claims Granted by Age and Gender

During the period 17 June 2001 to 16 June 2002, there were 88,171 new claims for DSP that were granted. This represents 67.5% of total claims processed.

Males make up 60.4% of new grants for DSP while females comprise 39.6%. These proportions are similar to the percentage distribution of males and females in the overall DSP population. Females currently make up 38.3% of the total DSP population. The age distribution of new grants also shows more customers in the age groups 16 to 19 and 40 to 59 years, than is found in the total DSP population.

Source: Superstar Common Events Databases 14/07/01 to 16/06/2002

Table 4.1: Disability Support Pension New Grants by Age and Gender: 17 June 2001 to 16 June 2002

	New grants					Total DSP customers
AGE	Male	%	Female	%	Total	%	Total	%
<16	49	0.09%	41	0.12%	90	0.10%	0	0.00%
16-19	3,541	6.65%	2,390	6.84%	5,931	6.73%	16,084	2.44%
20-24	1,944	3.65%	1,221	3.50%	3,165	3.59%	25,892	3.93%
25-29	2,455	4.61%	1,398	4.00%	3,853	4.37%	29,527	4.48%
30-34	3,271	6.14%	1,881	5.39%	5,152	5.84%	39,152	5.94%
35-39	3,967	7.45%	2,401	6.87%	6,368	7.22%	49,091	7.45%
40-44	4,814	9.04%	3,894	11.15%	8,708	9.88%	63,964	9.71%
45-49	5,226	9.82%	5,129	14.68%	10,355	11.74%	76,313	11.58%
50-54	6,854	12.87%	6,547	18.74%	13,401	15.20%	97,882	14.86%
55-59	10,786	20.26%	7,916	22.66%	18,702	21.21%	133,163	20.21%
60-64	10,197	19.15%	2,106	6.03%	12,303	13.95%	124,389	18.88%
65+	140	0.26%	3	0.01%	143	0.16%	3,458	0.52%
Total	53,244	100.00%	34,927	100.00%	88,171	100.00%	658,915	100.00%

Source: Superstar Common Events Databases 14/07/01 to 16/06/2002

4.2 Comparison of New Grants and Current Customers by Medical Condition

The distributions of new grants and current customers by medical condition are very similar. A few notable exceptions are the reduced percentage of new grants of customers with intellectual/learning disabilities and the increased number of new grants for customers with cancer, tumour or musculo-skeletal conditions.

When Invalid Pension ceased in November 1991, current customers were transferred to DSP. These customers did not have a medical condition recorded on their Centrelink record. They are being progressively reviewed and ascribed a medical condition, but as at June 2002, approximately 7% of the DSP population was still comprised of ex-Invalid Pension customers without a medical condition recorded.

By including these customers when looking at medical conditions, it has the effect of reducing the percentages in the other categories. Therefore, ex-Invalid Pensioners have been excluded from this graph to provide a clearer picture of the relationship between current customers and new grants.

Source: Superstar Common Events Databases 14/07/01 to 16/06/2002

Table 4.2: New Grants and Current Customers by Medical Condition: 17 June 2001 to 16 June 2002*

MEDICAL CONDITION	Male	%	Female	%	New Grant	%	Total Customers	%
Acquired brain impairment	1,250	2.35%	480	1.37%	1,730	1.96%	16,666	2.72%
Amputation	151	0.28%	38	0.11%	189	0.21%	1,685	0.28%
Cancer/tumour	3,133	5.88%	2,083	5.96%	5,216	5.92%	12,831	2.09%
Chronic fatigue/post viral syndrome	381	0.72%	626	1.79%	1,007	1.14%	6,239	1.02%
Congenital abnormality	391	0.73%	313	0.90%	704	0.80%	10,715	1.75%
Chronic pain	392	0.74%	434	1.24%	826	0.94%	4,747	0.77%
Circulatory system	4,591	8.62%	1,485	4.25%	6,076	6.89%	35,485	5.79%
Endocrine and immune system	1,374	2.58%	970	2.78%	2,344	2.66%	15,043	2.46%
Intellectual/learning	2,821	5.30%	1,727	4.94%	4,548	5.16%	67,090	10.95%
Musculo-skeletal and connective tissue	21,116	39.66%	14,020	40.14%	35,136	39.85%	219,740	35.86%
Nervous system	1,392	2.61%	1,237	3.54%	2,629	2.98%	20,505	3.35%
Psychological/psychiatric	12,657	23.77%	9,119	26.11%	21,776	24.70%	155,998	25.46%
Respiratory system	1,747	3.28%	1,143	3.27%	2,890	3.28%	19,772	3.23%
Skin disorders and burns	128	0.24%	95	0.27%	223	0.25%	1,677	0.27%
Sense organs	948	1.78%	668	1.91%	1,616	1.83%	14,641	2.39%
Visceral disorder	645	1.21%	449	1.29%	1,094	1.24%	9,460	1.54%
Not coded	127	0.24%	40	0.11%	167	0.19%	411	0.07%
Total*	53,244	100.00%	34,927	100.00%	88,171	100.00%	612,705	100.00%

Source: Superstar Common Events Databases 14/07/01 to 16/06/02; Superstar Pensions Database 16/06/02

* Excludes customers granted prior to 12/11/91 (46,210 customers).

 

4.3 New Claims Rejected by Reason and Gender

During the period 17 June 2001 to 16 June 2002, there were 42,457 claims for DSP rejected. This represents 32.5% of total claims processed. The main reasons for rejecting the claim were because the customer had less than 20 points impairment as assessed under the Impairment Tables, or had a short-term disability.

Females were more likely then males to be rejected because the disability was short‑term. Males were more likely than females to be rejected due to compensation.

Table 4.3: New Claims Rejected by Reason and Gender: 17 June 2001 to 16 June 2002

REJECTION REASON	Male	%	Female	%	total	%
<20 points impairment	12,049	47.22%	8,287	48.92%	20,336	47.90%
Disability is short term	3,801	14.90%	2,721	16.06%	6,522	15.36%
Failed to reply to correspondence	2,719	10.66%	1,753	10.35%	4,472	10.53%
Other	1,183	4.64%	776	4.58%	1,959	4.61%
> 20 points, can work full time	1,171	4.59%	532	3.14%	1,703	4.01%
Compensation	1,172	4.59%	494	2.92%	1,666	3.92%
Failed to undergo medical exam	875	3.43%	573	3.38%	1,448	3.41%
Withdrawn/voluntary surrender	597	2.34%	451	2.66%	1,048	2.47%
Income/Assets over limit	859	3.37%	654	3.86%	1,513	3.56%
> 20 points, can be reskilled	404	1.58%	188	1.11%	592	1.39%
Not residentially qualified	230	0.90%	194	1.15%	424	1.00%
Not residentially qualified	140	0.55%	96	0.57%	236	0.56%
Failed to attend interview	121	0.47%	67	0.40%	188	0.44%
Doesn't meet age requirements	57	0.22%	67	0.29%	106	0.25%
Not coded	57	0.22%	31	0.18%	88	0.21%
Incapacitated/blinded overseas	41	0.16%	43	0.25%	84	0.20%
Claim lodged early	12	0.05%	13	0.08%	25	0.06%
Not permanently blind	10	0.04%	9	0.05%	19	0.04%
Cus/ptr failed to advise TFN	9	0.04%	5	0.03%	14	0.03%
Whereabouts unknown	9	0.04%	5	0.03%	14	0.03%
Total	25,516	100.00%	16,941	100.00%	42,457	100.00%

Source: Superstar Common Events Databases 14/07/01 to 16/06/02

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5:Where DSP Customers Are Coming From And Going To

5.1 Where DSP Customers Are Coming From

There were 79,450 people receiving DSP in June 2002 who were not receiving DSP in June 2001. These “new customers” represent 12.1% of the total DSP population as at June 2002.

The largest group of people entering DSP are those who were not previously receiving an income support payment. These comprise 44.1% of new customers on payment. The next largest source of DSP customers is transfers from Newstart Allowance with 35.0% of new customers, followed by Parenting Payment (both Single and Partnered) with 4.7% of new DSP customers. A large group of customers (16.2%) have their origins from a range of other payments such as Youth Allowance, Carer Payment and Special Benefit although the numbers from each payment are small. These proportions have remained fairly static for at least the last few financial years.

It should be noted that figures for customer transfers do not exactly match those for new grants due to the different business rules used in extracting these data sets, for example, some new grants can be for the same customer or a customer may be granted DSP and then leave DSP within the same year.

Source: FaCS Data Map, Payment to Payment Reports

Table 5.1: People Entering onto Disability Support Pension: June 2001 to June 2002

Origin	Count	%
Non Client	35,070	44.14%
Newstart Allowance	27,787	34.97%
Parenting Payments	3,754	4.72%
Youth Allowance	1,974	2.48%
Sickness Allowance	1,764	2.22%
Partner Allowance	1,621	2.04%
Other payments	7,480	9.41%
Total	79,450	100.00%

Source: FaCS Data Map, Payment to Payment Reports

5.2 Where DSP Customers Are Going To

The majority of customers who were on DSP in June 2001 but were not on DSP in June 2002 moved on to Age Pension (52.5%). As customers reach Age Pension eligibility age the vast majority transfer across although a very small percentage of customers choose to remain on DSP. In January 2002 the qualifying age for women to claim Age Pension increased by six months to 62 years. This reduced the number of DSP customers moving onto Age Pension from 30,028 over the 2000-01 financial year to 25,315 over the 2001-02 financial year.

Of the people who left DSP, 23.2% left payments entirely. A substantial proportion (19.1%) of exits from DSP was because of the death of the customer.

Source: FaCS Data Map, Payment to Payment Reports

Table 5.2: Disability Support Pension Customers Exiting Payment: June 2001 to June 2002

Destination	Count	%
Age Pension	25,315	52.54%
Non Client	11,164	23.17%
Deceased	9,190	19.07%
Newstart/Youth Allowance	672	1.39%
Other payments	1,839	3.82%
Total	48,180	100.00%

Source: FaCS Data Map, Payment to Payment Reports

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