{"id":940141,"date":"2026-05-05T21:36:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/940141\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T21:36:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:36:28","slug":"more-than-8-million-people-rely-on-income-support-driven-by-a-growing-number-of-mental-health-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/940141\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 8 million people rely on income support, driven by a growing number of mental health claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 8 million Australians now rely on some form of income support, putting pressure on a safety net that was never designed to take on so many, but insurers say earlier intervention and unified assessment processes would improve the system.<\/p>\n

With around 2 million more people now accessing payments than a decade ago, the surge is being driven by Australians whose physical and mental health has deteriorated to the point they can no longer work.<\/p>\n

Mental ill health now accounts for about one-third of claims across Australia’s major income support schemes, according to data compiled by researchers at Monash University and SuperFriend for the Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI).<\/p>\n

“We are now faced with a major national productivity challenge,” said Christine Cupitt, chief executive of CALI.<\/p>\n

“It’s not just one part of the system under pressure \u2014 the entire safety net is under strain.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"CEO<\/p>\n

CEO of CALI, Christine Cupitt, says the entire system is under pressure. (ABC News: Scott Preston)<\/p>\n

The report found demand had increased across all 11 of Australia’s income support systems, spanning employer-provided sick leave and workers’ compensation to social security payments, superannuation and life insurance claims.<\/p>\n

Employers remain the biggest contributor, with paid sick leave supporting around 7.5 million Australians, typically for short periods of about three weeks.<\/p>\n

However, more people are exhausting sick leave and moving into longer term support, where the chances of returning to work diminish.<\/p>\n

“Mental health has really changed the profile of these claims,” Ms Cupitt said.<\/p>\n

“It’s now one of the leading drivers of people needing income support, and these claims tend to be more complex and longer in duration.”<\/p>\n

‘It took me completely by surprise’<\/p>\n

For 30\u2011year-old Lauren Frahamer, the statistics are reflected in her daily life, after long COVID meant she could no longer work.<\/p>\n

Before she fell ill, Ms Frahamer was a stage manager on major musical theatre productions, working around 50 hours a week, often nights and weekends, while maintaining an intense fitness routine of gym sessions, swimming, running and yoga.<\/p>\n

“I was very active,” she said. “Work was a big part of my life.”<\/p>\n

She contracted COVID-19 in December 2021, during an outbreak that spread through her workplace.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ms Frahamer says fear and confusion set in as symptoms dragged on. (ABC News: Harrison Tippet)<\/p>\n

The acute illness was brutal but unremarkable \u2014 weeks of fever, pain and exhaustion \u2014 but recovery never came.<\/p>\n

“I tried to go back to work for about a month and just couldn’t do it,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I had extreme fatigue. I had brain fog. I couldn’t remember a sentence well enough to pass a message on. My job depends on focus for hours at a time, and I just didn’t have it.”<\/p>\n

As the symptoms dragged on, Ms Frahamer said confusion and fear set in.<\/p>\n

“I was mentally unwell through that whole process,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

she said.<\/p>\n

“At first, I was almost numb. Then as my brain started coming back online, I realised something was seriously wrong.<\/p>\n

“I hadn’t had a major health event before \u2014 it took me completely by surprise.”<\/p>\n

What is income protection insurance?<\/a><\/p>\n

People often \u2014 wrongly \u2014 believe income protection insurance would be paid out if the person was unable to work due to losing their job for any reason.<\/p>\n

Eventually, she resigned, moved back to Melbourne to be closer to family, and began treatment through an allied health clinic specialising in complex, long-term conditions.<\/p>\n

The turning point came when her partner at the time was made redundant.<\/p>\n

“That’s when I really had to look at what support existed,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t even know if long COVID would be recognised. I had no idea if it was claimable.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ms Frahamer now works nine hours a week from home in client support. (ABC News: Harrison Tippet)<\/p>\n

In mid-2022, Ms Frahamer was granted partial income protection \u2014 support she said kept her from losing independence altogether.<\/p>\n

“It didn’t take long to burn through my savings,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Rent, life costs, appointments, medications \u2014 it adds up fast. Without income protection, I would’ve had to move back in with my parents and be completely dependent again.”<\/p>\n

Ms Frahamer now works nine hours a week in client support at the same allied health clinic that once treated her \u2014 about 40 per cent of her former capacity.<\/p>\n

“It’s been about a year at this level,” she said.<\/p>\n

But she’s determined to take steps to work full-time again.<\/p>\n

“Work gives you purpose,” she said.<\/p>\n

“When it’s taken away through no fault of your own \u2026 it’s hard.”<\/p>\n

Earlier intervention needed<\/p>\n

Associate Professor Ross Iles, a Monash University researcher and chief research adviser at SuperFriend, said the number of working-age Australians needing income support had risen steadily.<\/p>\n

“Mental health seems to be having a bigger toll on people’s ability to work,” he said.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest problems with the way income support is set up is fragmentation, according to Mr Iles.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Close to $80 billion a year is being spent on income support. (ABC News: Chris Gillette)<\/p>\n

Each scheme has different eligibility rules, medical evidence requirements and application processes.<\/p>\n

“If someone’s workers’ compensation claim is rejected and they need to turn to insurance or social security, that’s a whole new application,” he said.<\/p>\n

“New forms, new medical assessments, new processes. When you’re unwell, that burden is enormous.”<\/p>\n

Mental health issues amongst workers sees huge spike in insurance claims<\/a><\/p>\n

Over a 10-year period, mental health claims by Australian workers aged between 30 and 40 have increased by more than 730 per cent, new data has revealed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the longer a person was out of work, the less likely they were to return. Delays in treatment, claim processing and coordinated support reduced recovery prospects and increased long-term costs.<\/p>\n

“We’re spending close to $80 billion a year on income support,” Mr Iles said.<\/p>\n

“And that figure doesn’t even count lost productivity. The best outcome is helping people stay connected to work or return when they can.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Life insurers say the current system intervenes too late.<\/p>\n

They’re calling for earlier, better-coordinated support while people are still working as well as a government-led overhaul that links Australia’s 11 income support systems to employers, insurers and public agencies.<\/p>\n

It would mean nationally consistent mental health definitions, shared data, better identification of people at risk of long-term work loss, and smoother transitions between supports.<\/p>\n

“There’s a burning platform here,” Ms Cuppitt said.<\/p>\n

“We can’t afford systems operating in silos while more Australians get sick and leave the workforce.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 8 million Australians now rely on some form of income support, putting pressure on a safety…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":940142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[487,105,140262,1196,218,59849,16,15,262697],"class_list":{"0":"post-940141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-cost-of-living","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-income-support","11":"tag-insurance","12":"tag-mental-health","13":"tag-superannuation","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-workers-compensation"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116524128109001307","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=940141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/940142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=940141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=940141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=940141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}