Renewing medical information

Currently, when you apply for a medical benefit, we ask you to provide evidence that you meet the medical qualifications for that payment. This is usually a medical certificate from a doctor or nurse practitioner or other suitable medical information depending on the type of payment.

If this evidence recommends your health condition, injury or disability is reviewed in the future, you will have limited medical coverage. This means, from 30 November you will still need to renew your medical certificate or information before it expires. The type of information you need to provide, or how often we review your medical benefit isn’t changing.

Changes starting from 30 November 2026

For people who have limited medical coverage:

• if you need more time to get a new medical certificate, you need to contact Work and Income before your current certificate expires. We’ll have an opportunity to understand your circumstances and give you more time if we need to.
• generally, we won’t be able give you an extension after a benefit stops, until we get a new certificate or updated information. So, it’s important you get in touch before your due date.

We will let you know when your review is due

You don’t need to do anything right now. You will be sent a letter when it’s time to renew your medical certificate or information.

Medical benefits include:

• Jobseeker Support on the grounds of a health condition, injury or disability (JS HCID)
• Supported Living Payment if you’re permanently and severely restricted in your ability to work because you have a health condition, injury, or disability (SLP HCID)
• Supported Living Payment because you’re caring for someone with a significant health condition, injury of disability.
• Disability Allowance (DA)
• Child Disability Allowance (CDA).

Making our use of automated decision-making clearer

We’re also making it clearer when we use automated decision-making in the medical reviews process. From 30 November, there’ll be updates on our website and in your letters, where this is relevant.

Automated decision-making is used in some parts of the medical reviews process, including to extend medical coverage for people who get Jobseeker Support or a Supported Living Payment on the grounds of a health condition, injury or disability. It is used when people provide a Work Capacity Medical Certificate that:

• is submitted to MSD via e-Lodgment within 20 working days of their medical appointment and
• shows no change to their health condition, injury, or disability or their work capacity since the previous certificate provided and
• does not recommend a second opinion.

Automated decision-making can also be used to stop a medical benefit on the review date (or extended review date, where relevant) when a client doesn’t respond to a medical review.

Reason for this change

These changes were introduced as part of the Social Security (Modernisation) Amendment Act 2026. They align legislation for medical evidence and reviews with our current practice and help us make sure our use of automated decision-making (ADM) is aligned with the ADM Standard.

People not affected by this change

We want to reassure you that if you have indefinite (ongoing) medical coverage, that you don’t need to do anything. This change won’t affect you because you have previously provided us with information that recommended your condition was never reassessed. We don’t need to review your medical coverage again.