A letter from a psychologist or psychiatrist supporting a client’s application for the Disability Support Pension (DSP) on the basis of mental health impairment. This letter addresses the diagnostic, treatment, and functional impairment criteria required by Services Australia, including assessment against Table 5 – Mental Health Function of the DSP Impairment Tables.
NovoNote‘s DSP Support Letter template helps clinicians produce a structured, evidence-based letter that clearly documents a client’s diagnosis, treatment history, functional limitations, and work capacity. The template is aligned with Services Australia’s DSP eligibility criteria, guiding clinicians through each required section — from impairment table ratings to prognosis — so nothing is missed. Where relevant, NovoPsych psychometric assessment results can be incorporated to strengthen the application with objective outcome data.
To Whom It May Concern,
Re: Client’s Name
DOB: Client’s Date of Birth
I am writing to provide supporting evidence for Client’s first and last name‘s application for the Disability Support Pension on the basis of mental health impairment.
Professional Background
Diagnosis
Treatment History and Stabilisation
Functional Impact and Impairment
Assessment Against Impairment Tables
Work Capacity
Psychometric Assessments
Supporting Documentation
Summary
Should you require any further information or clarification regarding Client’s Name, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Clinician Name
Clinician Profession
Clinician Registration Number
Practice Name
To Whom It May Concern,
Re: Mary Blogs
DOB: 14/03/1981
I am writing to provide supporting evidence for Mary Blogs’s application for the Disability Support Pension on the basis of mental health impairment.
Professional Background
I am a registered Clinical Psychologist with 12 years of clinical practice experience.
Diagnosis
Mary Blogs has been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (recurrent, severe, without psychotic features) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Both diagnoses were made by the undersigned clinician following a comprehensive clinical interview and review of presenting history in February 2022. Diagnostic conclusions are consistent with DSM-5-TR criteria and were supported by psychometric assessment results, including the DASS-21 and PCL-5.
Treatment History and Stabilisation
Mary commenced psychological treatment with this clinician in March 2022. She has attended 28 individual sessions of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) delivered fortnightly, with sessions transitioning to monthly review over the past six months. Mary’s treating psychiatrist, Dr. James Carter, has prescribed Sertraline (100mg daily) since April 2022. Mary has engaged consistently with treatment and completed all recommended homework tasks. Despite sustained and appropriate treatment over approximately three years, her condition has not stabilised, with ongoing severe depressive episodes and significant PTSD symptomatology.
All reasonable treatment options have been pursued. Mary has trialled two antidepressant medications, engaged in prolonged exposure therapy, and completed a structured group program for trauma survivors. Further intensive treatment options are not accessible due to geographic and financial barriers. In the clinician’s professional opinion, it is unlikely that Mary’s condition will improve sufficiently to enable sustained employment within the next two years, given the chronic and treatment-resistant nature of her presentation.
Functional Impact and Impairment
Mary’s mental health conditions significantly impair her functioning across multiple domains. In the area of social and interpersonal functioning, Mary reports she is largely socially isolated, rarely leaving her home and having withdrawn from all prior social relationships. She experiences significant hypervigilance in public settings and is unable to tolerate situations involving unfamiliar people. She has not maintained any consistent social relationships outside of her immediate household for the past two years.
Mary’s ability to concentrate, persist with tasks, and maintain pace is severely compromised. She reports difficulty reading a single page of text, sustaining attention for more than a few minutes, and completing basic sequential tasks such as cooking a meal from a recipe. She frequently loses track of conversations and is unable to follow through on multi-step tasks without significant prompting and support.
In the domain of self-care and independent living, Mary requires reminders and encouragement from her partner to maintain basic personal hygiene, prepare food, and attend medical appointments. On days when her depressive symptoms are most severe, she is unable to leave her bedroom or prepare meals.
Mary’s adaptive functioning and resilience are markedly impaired. She has significant difficulty coping with minor changes in routine, managing setbacks, or making decisions under pressure. She describes becoming overwhelmed by tasks that she previously managed with ease, such as responding to correspondence or organising household bills.
Mary also experiences difficulties with behavioural regulation, including emotional dysregulation characterised by abrupt emotional responses, dissociative episodes triggered by stress, and a persistent inability to modulate distress in response to everyday challenges.
Assessment Against Impairment Tables
Based on the functional impacts described above, it is my professional opinion that Mary Blogs meets criteria for a severe rating under Table 5 – Mental Health Function of the DSP Impairment Tables. Mary consistently demonstrates severely reduced capacity across the domains of social functioning, concentration and task completion, self-care, and adaptive functioning. The Table 5 severe descriptor reflects an inability to perform these functions in a range of work or work-like settings without substantial support, which is consistent with Mary’s daily presentation as documented over the course of treatment.
Work Capacity
In my professional opinion, Mary Blogs is currently unable to sustain any form of employment. Her severe functional impairments in concentration, interpersonal tolerance, self-regulation, and daily living tasks preclude consistent attendance, task completion, or engagement in any work environment. Mary’s prior employment as an administrative officer ended in 2021 due to deteriorating mental health, and she has not returned to any form of paid work since. It is this clinician’s view that, given the chronic and treatment-resistant nature of her conditions and the extent of her current functional impairment, Mary is unlikely to be able to work 15 or more hours per week within the next two years.
Psychometric Assessments
Summary
It is my professional opinion that Mary Blogs meets the criteria for the Disability Support Pension on the basis of mental health impairment. Her diagnoses of Major Depressive Disorder and PTSD are fully established, she has engaged with all reasonable treatment options, and her condition remains unremitted and unstabilised despite sustained and appropriate care. The functional impairment arising from her mental health conditions is severe, affecting all key domains assessed under Table 5 – Mental Health Function, and is of sufficient severity to prevent her from working 15 or more hours per week. This situation is unlikely to change within the next two years.
Should you require any further information or clarification regarding Mary Blogs, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Jane Smith
Clinical Psychologist
Registration Number: PSY0012345
11 NovoNote Street, NovoPsych, Australia
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