Here are the key must-have starting points if you want to apply for the 2025 DSP:
Medical Proof You’ll need a long-term health problem—physical, intellectual, or mental—that’s been checked over, treated, and mostly brought under control. That issue has to earn at least 20 points on the Centrelink Impairment Tables at closercare.com.
Work Capacity Test Someone needs to agree that your health means you won’t be able to work over 15 hours a week at the basic wage for at least the next 24 months at closercare.com.
Other Conditions You have to be 16 years old up to the Age Pension start point, have lived here for at least 10 years in most cases, and fit the income and asset rules at closercare.com.
Breaking Down the $1,065 Figure The centrelink.com total is broken down to usually include:
- The base pension rate
- The pension supplement
- The energy supplement
Your final payment can be higher or lower depending on if you live alone, have a partner, or get extra money from other places.
How much you get on the DSP depends if you’re single or in a couple. Rates and the extra “Income” and “Assets” tests all change the final number. Make sure to check which one applies to you.
Assets tests change whether you own a home. Homeowners have a lower cap, renters get a little bit more room, so add that detail when you apply.
Money arrives on the same timetable as other Centrelink payments. In 2025, it drops every two weeks, straight into your nominated bank account. Go to your myGov account or the Express Plus Centrelink app to get the exact dates. If you get payments sent to you overseas, you don’t have the same two-week timetable.
To kick the application off, log into myGov, upload proof from your doctor or other health professional, and fill in the rest of the forms. If the forms look too messy or if your income or health details don’t look straight forward, a disability advocate can help. They get you through the pile of paperwork so your case gets the attention it needs.
Even as groceries, rent, and other essentials bounce up and down, the DSP continues to provide steady help through 2025, letting people with disabilities budget and plan with less stress.