Terminal illness and Carer Support

Where a carer, or the person they care for – including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for – is terminally ill, this can affect the eligibility criteria and benefit rules which apply in Carer Support.

There is no separate application form or process for people applying for Carer Support who are terminally ill, or for people caring for someone who is terminally ill (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for). Clients should apply in the standard way.

The application form does not include a question asking if a carer or cared for person (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for) is terminally ill due to the complexity of this question and the need to protect clients from harmful information. [Refer to Need for Discretion and to withhold 'harmful information' page in this manual.]

Information on the SRTI rules is available for clients on mygov and included in notifications. Clients will also be made aware of the rules where relevant to their circumstances. [See 'Process where the client fails the past presence test' section on the 'Exemption from past presence test' page in this manual.]

If the client, or the person they care for is terminally ill (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for), the following Carer Support rules are different:

• the client can be exempt from the ‘past presence test’
• the client can be paid weekly in advance instead of four weeks in arrears

The effect on Carer Support of terminal illness is the same whether it is the Carer Support client – the carer – or the person they care for who is terminally ill, including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person for. This is to ensure carers can access support more quickly if they are terminally ill and that carers are treated consistently with the people they are caring for.

All other eligibility requirements and benefit rules, including the requirement to be providing 35 hours of care per week (or 20 hours for Carer Additional Person Payment), apply to those who are terminally ill, or caring for a terminally ill person, in the same way as other carers.