External
Policy

Last amended: 26 August 2014

Emergency or hardship situations

Situations may arise in both standard and non-standard proof of identity (POI) cases where an immediate payment of pension or grant of treatment is necessary, subject to other relevant qualification criteria.

  • Emergency:
  • the claimant requires immediate treatment in circumstances where there may be serious threat to the person's health, or
  • applications for treatment benefits under section 85(2) VEA or section 88A VEA, e.g. cancer treatment or hospital admission for a psychiatric illness.
  • Hardship for veterans' compensation and Military Compensation Scheme (MCS) claims:
  • the claimant is unable to earn a sufficient livelihood to support themselves and their dependants as a result of reasons beyond their control, and they are not receiving income support from DVA or Centrelink
  • Hardship for income support claims:
  • the claimant must demonstrate they would suffer financial hardship if the granting of payment were to be delayed. Hardship is considered when a claimant is entitled to the maximum rate of income support and has liquid assets of less than $1,000 if not a member of a couple and less than $2,000 if a member of a couple.    
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Liquid assets

Liquid assets are any readily available funds which can be accessed within 28 days. Liquid assets include a partner's assets and any jointly owned assets. Examples include:

  • cash on hand,
  • shares and debentures, bonds, loans, term deposits,
  • other money available at short notice,
  • payments made or due to be made within 28 days by an employer (except a qualifying eligible termination payment as defined in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936),
  • amounts borrowed from the bank for a specific purpose such as overseas travel that may not have been used for the said purpose,
  • monies in trust funds, bank accounts including mortgage offset accounts, and
  • compensation payments.