Current medical certificates and assessments

Clients are required to provide a current medical certificate that shows their medical coverage.

Medical certificates need to be current to help MSD determine or review the client's benefit entitlement or capacity to work.

When a client is applying for Jobseeker Support (health condition, injury or disability) and the entitlement date is before their application date, MSD may need to ask the client to provide more than 1 medical certificate. This is to ensure the client has sufficient medical coverage.

MSD will advise clients to see their registered medical practitioner or nurse practitioner (or dentist or midwife where relevant) for another medical certificate so they can keep getting Jobseeker Support (health condition, injury or disability) if they are still unable to work full-time when their current medical coverage ends.

A client's benefit may stop if a current medical certificate is not provided before their expiry date. However, if a client has a good and sufficient reason for the delay in providing a current medical certificate, MSD may consider applying a discretionary extension to the medical certificate expiry.

The process of getting a medical certificate usually includes a medical assessment by a registered medical practitioner or nurse practitioner (or dentist or midwife where relevant).

The medical certificate must be completed when the client attends the assessment with the practitioner. Sometimes a client may request a medical certificate without being assessed.

Generally, MSD will need to get more current information in the following situations:

• at application: when the time between the assessment date and the date the certificate was completed is more than 20 working days or the certificate is more than 20 working days old
• during a medical reassessment: when there is an extended time (e.g. more than 1 week) between the assessment date and the date the medical certificate was completed

MSD should consider:

• the reason for the difference between the assessment date and the date the certificate was completed (e.g. the practitioner was not available to provide a more current assessment) and
• if MSD has information to indicate the impact of the client's impairment or disability is unlikely to have changed

If there is no acceptable reason for the difference between the dates and MSD decides the medical certificate is not current, MSD should ask the client to provide a further medical certificate with a current assessment.