Sick or injured CSS and PSS customers

Invalidity retirement

Customers of CSS and PSS who are totally and permanently incapacitated (TPI) may be able to medically retire and claim an invalidity benefit through us.
Medical retirement is not possible unless we issue an Invalidity Retirement Certificate (IRC) for any employees who are:

• customers of CSS and under age 65 or
• customers of PSS and under age 60

Is your employee over these age limits? See CSS and PSS members over age limits.

Your application must include medical reports, but how many?

Your IRC application should include at least two medical reports support that your employee is TPI. However, if your employee’s personal or medical circumstances mean that you’re unable to get more than one medical report, we might still be able to approve an IRC. We call this ‘clear entitlement’.¹ 

Clear entitlement is met when we’re satisfied there’s no reasonable doubt that your employee is TPI. We might be satisfied of this after reviewing just one recent medical report and any other information or matters we consider relevant.

If we’re satisfied that your employee is TPI under clear entitlement, we’ll issue an IRC so you can medically retire your employee. If we’re not satisfied, we may ask you to provide us additional information or take other appropriate steps before we progress the application.

You can find more helpful information about invalidity retirement via the links below:

• Applying for a CSS or PSS invalidity retirement certificate
• Assisting terminally ill CSS and PSS members
• CSS and PSS doctor’s report checklist for invalidity retirement
• CSS and PSS application for issue of invalidity retirement certificate form

You can also request that we send an invalidity benefit estimate to an employee by completing our estimate request form.

¹This isn’t a legislative term used in the Superannuation Act 1976. See subsection 54H(1) of the Superannuation Act 1976 for the CSS equivalent of ‘clear entitlement’.

Approved Medical Practitioners (AMPs)

Below is a list of the current AMP providers who are to be used when obtaining a report on whether or not your employee is totally and permanently incapacitated in preparation for an IRC application.

Pre-assessment payments (PAPs)

Employees who are customers of CSS and PSS may be eligible to receive PAPs before an IRC is issued if they:

• are likely to be totally and permanently incapacitated
• have been off work for 28 consecutive days
• have expired all of their sick leave
• are not receiving compensation payments
• are not a limited benefits member.

You can find more information on applying for and paying PAPs in our guide.

Our PAP calculator will assist you to pay and seek reimbursement of PAPs paid to a customer.

Partial invalidity pensions (PIPs)

Customers of CSS and PSS may be eligible for a PIP if they have suffered a permanent decrease in salary due to a change to their work hours and/or redeployment to a lower position which is attributed to a physical or mental incapacity.

Use the links below to learn more about PSS PIPs:

• Applying for a PSS partial invalidity pension
• Reviewing a PSS partial invalidity pension
• Paying PSS partial invalidity pensions
• Informal reduction in hours – delegate’s instrument
• Informal redeployment – delegate’s instrument
• PSS medical officers’ report checklist for PIP applications
• PSS medical officers’ report checklist for reviewing PIPs
• PSS PIP application (SPP) form

Our PSS PIP calculator will assist you to pay and seek reimbursement of a PSS PIP.

Use the links below to learn more about CSS PIPs:

• Applying for a CSS partial invalidity pension
• CSS medical officers’ report checklist for PIP applications

CSS and PSS members over age limits

We’re not required to issue an invalidity retirement certificate (IRC) to members who are medically retiring over certain age limits:

• CSS members 65 and over 
• PSS members 60 and over

If you’re medically retiring your employee over these ages, you don’t need to ask us for an IRC. Invalidity retirement over these ages result in different benefit options being available, compared to the typical invalidity retirement process. 

Once your employee over the above age limits has been medically retired, they’ll need to complete the age retirement benefit application form below (which has the benefit options which are available in their situation) and submit it along with their cessation certificate and medical reports to formsandapplications@csc.gov.au. Your payroll team will also need to complete a departmental report.

Why we need medical reports

If your employee is under 65 and can provide us with evidence that they meet the ATO requirements for invalidity benefits, we may be able to apply alternative tax treatment to any lump sum benefit. We’ll need their cessation certificate and at least two medical reports certified by legally qualified medical practitioners to apply this tax treatment.

What your cessation certificate needs to include

Your employee’s cessation certificate should include: 

• their name
• the date their employment was terminated
• the legislative provision their employment was terminated under 
  • e.g. subsection 29(3)(d) of the Public Service Act 1999 for APS employees
• the signature of the person authorising the termination.

The medical reports should address whether your employee is totally and permanently incapacitated and should explain their condition(s). There’s no need for an independent medical report –reports can be from legally qualified medical practitioners treating your employee (e.g. a specialist and general practitioner). 

Employees with a terminal medical condition

If your employee has a terminal medical condition with a life expectancy of less than 24 months, any lump sum benefit can be paid tax free if we’re provided with evidence from two registered medical practitioners who have certified, jointly or separately, that your employee suffers from an illness or injury that is likely to result in their death within 24 months of the date of certification. 

At least one of the registered medical practitioners must be a specialist practicing in an area related to your employee’s illness or injury, and both of the medical reports must be within their certification period. The certification period is 24 months from the date of certification. 

Any super balance remaining after the certification period ends can be accessed by your employee at any time, but may not be tax-free. Benefits that accrue after the certification period aren’t eligible for tax free payments under the previous assessment and may require new evidence.

For more information, check out the ATO’s website.