Finding other income

Centrelink benefits

The Australian Government provides a range of payments through Centrelink that may be available to people with cancer and their carers. These include:

• Age Pension
• Carer Payment and Carer Allowance
• Disability Support Pension
• JobSeeker Payment
• Bereavement Payment.

You may also be eligible for Rent Assistance, the Pensioner Concession Card or the Health Care Card, which can help reduce your medical and other expenses.

Centrelink benefits may depend on your income and assets or have other eligibility requirements. To check if you are eligible, and for information about how to apply, visit Services Australia or ask your social worker.

You can claim payments online through myGov. Visit Centrelink’s Payment and Service Finder to see what payments you may be able to get.

Insurance claims

Review all your insurance policies to see if they cover your situation. This may include income protection, private health, travel, trauma, consumer credit, total and permanent disability (TPD), mortgage and life insurance. It is important to make insurance claims as soon as possible because time limits may apply.

Check whether you have any insurance attached to your superannuation or provided by your employer. If you are thinking of resigning from your job, check your insurance coverage first, because leaving work may affect your entitlements.

If you are not sure whether you are covered, contact the insurer. if you think you should be covered but your claim is denied, contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. Cancer Council may be able to connect you with a lawyer for assistance. Call 13 11 20.

No interest loans

No Interest Loan Schemes (NILS) provide people on low incomes with interest-free credit. You can borrow up to $2000 for essential items such as furniture and whitegoods, computers, some medical services and car registration. You can borrow up to $3000 to pay bond, rent in advance and rates.

Most of these loans will need to be repaid over 1–2 years. NILS loans are provided by several charitable organisations. To see if you are eligible, or to find a NILS provider near you, visit Good Shepherd or call 13 64 57.

Property and other assets

You may be able to sell an asset, such as a house, car or investments, to give you more cash to cover expenses or repay debts. It’s a good idea to speak to a financial adviser about which assets to keep and which to sell. If you are considering selling an asset, such as property or shares, or cashing in superannuation or other similar policies, make sure you get advice that explains any tax issues and maximises your return.

If a lender has a court order to sell your property to recover a debt, ask them in writing to postpone enforcement of the order so that you can sell your asset privately. You will probably get a better price if you arrange the sale yourself or through an agent.

Superannuation

In Australia, you can access your superannuation (super) after reaching the age of 60 years old. You will usually need to be retired if under 65. You can, however, access your super early in particular circumstances, such as to pay for medical treatment or due to severe financial hardship. These are the conditions for accessing your super.

Aged 65 or over, working or retired – Once you have reached the minimum age set by law (your preservation age), you can access your super as a lump sum or an income stream.

Aged 60–64 and retired – The same conditions as above apply.

Aged 60–64 and still working – You can access some of your super to top up your salary if you are working reduced hours. Called transition to retirement (TTR), this scheme provides an income stream from your superannuation savings. There are conditions applied to TTR.

Aged under 60 – You can access your super early only in some circumstances, including if you:

• need the money to pay for medical treatment, or transport to and from medical treatment for yourself or a dependant
• need the money for home loan repayments to prevent the bank from selling your house to pay off the debt (foreclosure)
• have a disability and need to make your home or car more accessible
• need to pay palliative care, funeral, burial or cremation costs
• have a terminal illness with a life expectancy of 2 years or less
• are unable to ever return to work (called permanent incapacity)
• have been receiving a Centrelink payment for 26 weeks continuously and cannot pay your living expenses
• have a low super balance of less than $200.

How to access super early

To access your superannuation early, you need to apply to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or directly to your super fund, depending on why you are applying. There are also tax issues to consider. If you want to know more about accessing your superannuation early, you can visit the ATO’s website and search for early access to super; contact your super fund; or talk to a financial counsellor.

Super, insurance and terminal illness

People accessing super early because of a terminal illness might also be able to claim on their super’s life insurance. Before you decide to access your super early, find out whether doing so would affect your insurance entitlements.

Premiums for life insurance are often deducted directly from the super’s lump sum (preserved amount). If you withdraw all your super, you will no longer be up to date with the insurance premiums, so insurance cover may be cancelled. You may be able to leave some of your super in the fund so insurance premiums continue to be paid. Insurance can also be cancelled if super funds are inactive for more than 16 months.

You will need to check the qualifying time frame – superannuation law allows people to withdraw all their super if their life expectancy is 2 years or less, but many life insurance policies allow payouts only when life expectancy is one year or less. To find out more about your super, talk to your super fund or a financial adviser.

Do you have insurance through your super?

People often don’t realise that they may have insurance attached to their super. Many industry super funds, as well as some retail funds, offer insurance by default. In many cases, you will be covered if you did not choose to opt out.

Types of insurance offered through super funds include:

• life insurance (may be called death cover) – this is paid to nominated beneficiaries when the policyholder dies. Some policies will pay the insured amount if the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal medical condition
• total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance – this is usually paid as a lump sum. Each insurer can have a different definition of what it means to be totally and permanently disabled from illness or injury
• income protection insurance – this is paid if you’re unable to do your usual job due to sickness or injury.

For more details, contact your superannuation fund.

If you’re not sure where all your superannuation is held, call the ATO’s lost super search line on 13 28 65 to find any lost or unclaimed superannuation.

Workers compensation

In Australia, about 5000 people are diagnosed with work-related cancers each year. Work-related cancers can be caused by:

• ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun (e.g. labourers, wharf workers, postal service workers)
• toxic dusts and chemicals, including asbestos, diesel exhaust, heavy metals, solvents and pesticides (e.g. construction workers, painters, armed services personnel, forestry workers)
• ionising radiation (e.g. miners, nuclear energy workers).

Workers compensation covers workers and their employers in the event of a work-related injury or illness. If you have been diagnosed with a work-related cancer, you may be entitled to workers compensation.

This could be paid weekly, as a lump sum and/or used to pay medical bills. If a person dies because of a work-related cancer, their dependants may be able to claim a lump sum amount.

It’s important to obtain legal advice from a lawyer who specialises in workers compensation matters. To make a claim, notify your state or territory workers compensation authority about your cancer and why you think it is work related. A time limit may apply for making a claim.

To find a lawyer in South Australia, visit The Law Society of South Australia or call them on (08) 8229 0200. Depending on where you live, Cancer Council 13 11 20 may be able to connect you with a lawyer.