Eligibility of the Principal Beneficiary

Last amended: 10 June 2011

Principal beneficiary

A person does not need to be in receipt of an income support payment for a special disability trust (SDT) to be established for their care and accommodation needs. However, before an SDT is created it must be established that the person meets the definition of having a severe disability.

If the beneficiary of the trust is receiving a payment from Centrelink, this is done through an assessment by the Centrelink Special Disability Trust team.    

What is considered a severe disability?

A person with a severe disability is defined as follows:

• a person who has reached 16 years of age:

• whose level of impairment would qualify the person for disability support pension or who is already receiving an invalidity service pension or an income support supplement, and
• who has a disability that would, if the person had a sole carer, qualify the carer for carer payment or carer allowance, or
• who is living in an institution, hostel or group home in which care is provided for people with disabilities and for which funding is provided under an agreement between the Commonwealth, States and Territories, and
• who has a disability as a result of which he or she is not working and who has no likelihood of working for more than 7 hours per week for a wage that is at or above the relevant minimum wage, or he or she is working for wages set in accordance with the Supported Wage System, or

• a child under 16 years of age who is a profoundly disabled child as defined in subsection 197(1) of the Social Security Act 1991.

Type of income support payment

The assessment of the SDT and any means test concessions are not related in any way to the type of income support payment the principal beneficiary receives now or in the future.