Special Rate - 24(2A)(f) and 24(2A)(g); Intermediate Rate - 23(3A)(f) and 23(3A)(g)
Note: On 1 July 2017, the work restriction eligibility rules changed. The work history requirement for Special and Intermediate Rates of Disability Pension now just requires a period of 10 continuous years of work in any field or vocation prior to applying for the Special or Intermediate Rates of Disability Pension.
1. Under these sections, the delegate must first determine that the veteran was undertaking his or her last paid work after turning 65.
2. Once this part of the test is satisfied, the delegate must then establish that the veteran had been working in that last paid employment for a continuous period of 10 years commencing from a date before the veteran turned 65.
3.To meet this test, the veteran must have been an employee for the same employer (or if the employer's company was taken over, the legal successor of that employer) for the last 10-year period of paid work. For self-employed veterans, the veteran must have been working on his or her own account in the same profession or field of work (i.e. the kind of remunerative work that a person with the veteran's skills, qualifications or experience might reasonably undertake) for the last 10-year period of paid work.
4. In each case, the 10-year period must have commenced prior to the veteran turning 65. That 10-year period may include periods during which the veteran was not working (taking holidays etc), as long as that break is not too extensive, but it cannot include periods where the veteran ceased to work (i.e. 3 years touring Europe would likely be considered more than just a holiday and mean that the continuous 10-year requirement had not been met). These are questions of fact to be decided to the satisfaction of the delegate.
5. Professionals, self-employed people and owner-operators of businesses such as doctors, dentists, accountants, lawyers, farmers and consultants have a different work history to most veterans seeking Special Rate or Intermediate Rate pension. The delegate must be satisfied that the information provided shows that in the 10-year period prior to the claim, the veteran was in fact conducting the business or carrying out the duties or performing the tasks of the profession or occupation. A self-employed veteran will only meet this test if he or she has been engaged in that profession or occupation 'on his or her own account'; it is not possible to aggregate periods of self-employment and employment.
6. Supportive material might include records of continuing professional development, possession of licences or charters, continued maintenance of an Australian Business Number and associated business activity records, provided this material was generated in the context of the veteran's engagement in remunerative business or professional activity. In other cases, knowledge of the amount of work conducted or the hours of work in performance of the tasks will be necessary for a decision to be made.
7. If the activity is no more than a continuation of the veteran's previous interests pursued while undertaking another occupation, material may be required to satisfy the delegate that the activity was a genuine profession, trade, employment, vocation or calling.