Polcare – 06/10/2021

The Rules don’t exactly clearly set out the circumstances under which a psychological disability may be considered permanent. Specifically, what is considered as reasonable needs to be more clearly defined – Psychological disability may be considered permanent “after a period of time that is reasonable considering the nature of the impairment.”

It should be noted that although treatment for psychological disability is available and ongoing, it does not necessarily always minimise the person’s functional capacity to a significant extent, where it does not interfere in a person’s life and constitute a significant and permanent disability – An impairment to which a psychosocial disability is attributable may be considered permanent only if “no appropriate treatment for the purpose of managing the person’s mental, behavioural or emotional condition is reasonably available to the person.”