Medical Certificate
Who should complete the certificate?
The medical practitioner who is involved in the ongoing medical care of the child or young person should complete the medical certificate.
As a medical practitioner, you assess whether the following conditions are met for the Child Disability Allowance. The child or young person:
- has a serious physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual disability or chronic medical condition
- requires constant care and attention because of their serious disability
- will require constant care and attention permanently or for a period exceeding 12 months.
Completing the Medical Certificate
The following pages outline a step by step guide to completing the questions in the medical certificate.
Once completed, the certificate should be given to the child or young person’s carer, who will return it to Work and Income.
Disability
Please provide the details of the child or young person’s disability. This information will help the case manager understand the nature of the child or young person’s overall condition, and to accurately record the information.
Please list the diagnoses in order of the severity of their impact on the child or young person.
Where a condition is the result of an accident covered by ACC, please tick the appropriate box. Some payments made by ACC affect eligibility to the Child Disability Allowance.
Impact on the child or young person
Serious disability includes a physical, sensory, neurological, psychiatric, intellectual disability or chronic medical condition.
This is a key question. If the child or young person does not have a serious disability, the carer is not eligible for the Child Disability Allowance, and you should proceed to Question 8 and provide comments on why the Child Disability Allowance has been applied for. The case manager will consider your comments to see if the person qualifies for other types of assistance.
Bodily functions include such activities as toileting and eating. Work and Income recognise that all young children need assistance with toileting and eating. However, the need for assistance from another person must be as a direct consequence of a serious disability, must be required frequently, and must be in excess of that normally required by a child of the same age.
The attention and supervision required by the carer should be focused on functions such as the activities of daily living, mobility, learning, behaviour and/or health needs. The attention and supervision should be required as a direct consequence of the disability and must be substantially in excess of what a child or young person of the same age or sex would require.
Regular supervision means ongoing attention, several times a day, and must be in excess of attention required by a child or young person of a similar age. Substantial danger should be as a direct consequence of the disability and pose a real threat of physical or mental harm to the child or young person or those around them.
The Child Disability Allowance can only be granted where the condition of the child or young person is such that they will need constant care and attention permanently or for a period exceeding 12 months. Where this is not the case, the carer is not eligible for the Child Disability Allowance, and you should proceed to Question 8 and provide comments on why the Child Disability Allowance has been applied for. The case manager will consider your comments to see if the person qualifies for other types of assistance.
We cannot pay the Child Disability Allowance where the child or young person is permanently in hospital. However, where the child or young person is in hospital temporarily, the Child Disability Allowance can be paid.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the child or young person’s diagnosis or disability with a Work and Income staff member, please tick the contact box.
Please be aware that Work and Income staff must comply with the relevant privacy statutes. Therefore, any information you provide during discussions will be recorded in our systems and may subsequently be discoverable by the child or young person, or their carer.
Please record any other details that you consider would be relevant or useful in assisting the case manager with their decision.
If the child or young person has a chronic or severe condition, it would help us determine appropriate support if you could attach a copy of a recent report or referral letter.
Reassessment
It may be necessary to review a child or young person’s eligibility for the Child Disability Allowance, especially where it is for a condition that can improve over time or with increasing maturity. Where the need for constant care and attention is likely to reduce over time, reviews should be undertaken at regular intervals. Other disorders are always likely to qualify for the Child Disability Allowance and never require to be reviewed.
The Child Disability Allowance is payable up to the end of the school year of when the child or young person turns 18 years of age.
Some children with permanent and severe medical conditions may qualify for the Invalid’s Benefit at 16 years of age.
Health professional identity
This section records your details.
We use your HPI number to check your current registration status. If your HPI number indicates that you are not registered as a medical practitioner we will be unable to accept the certificate from you.
When completing the medical certificate, you are encouraged to use a stamp which imprints the necessary name and address details.
