If you’ve lodged a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) claim through your super, you may be surprised when the insurer focuses less on your old job and more on what you could do instead.
At LawAdvice, we often see disputes turn on one document in particular: a vocational assessment, sometimes paired with a “transferable skills analysis”.
Why “transferable skills” matters in TPD
Many superannuation TPD policies operate on an “any occupation” style test, which means the question isn’t just whether you can return to your previous role, but whether you’re unlikely to ever work again in any job you’re reasonably suited to.
That concept lines up with the “permanent incapacity” condition of release used in superannuation: broadly, whether you are unlikely, because of ill-health, to engage in gainful employment for which you are reasonably qualified by education, training or experience.
This is where insurers bring in “transferable skills”: arguing your background equips you for other roles, often lighter duties, desk-based work, or “retraining”.
What is a vocational assessment?
A vocational assessment is usually prepared by a rehabilitation consultant or vocational expert. It commonly covers:
- your work history and qualifications
- your functional restrictions drawn from medical material
- a transferable skills analysis to identify what skills “carry over” to other jobs
- suggested alternative occupations and sometimes a labour market review
Super funds and insurers may ask you to attend vocational assessments as part of the claim process.
How insurers use these reports to say you can still work
In practical terms, insurers often argue capacity based on assumptions like:
- you can work sedentary or “light” duties even if you can’t do your trade
- you can work consistent hours with normal attendance
- you can commute, sit, concentrate, and use a computer reliably
- you could be retrained “within a reasonable timeframe”
They may point to broad roles such as customer service, administration, scheduling, reception, or sales even if you’ve never done them before , but say your past experience makes you “suited”.
The common issuesto watch for
Vocational reports aren’t always wrong, but they can be overly optimistic. Red flags include:
- understating pain, fatigue, medication side effects, or mental health symptoms
- assuming you can sustain full-time work when your treating doctors say otherwise
- ignoring real barriers like age, language, literacy, licensing requirements, computer skills, or long gaps out of work.
- listing “available jobs” without addressing whether you could realistically perform them reliably and ongoingly
Some claim processes also involve a procedural fairness step, where you can comment on material being used against you before a final decision is made.
If you disagree, what can you do?
You can usually ask for a copy of the vocational report and respond with corrections and supporting evidence. Strong responses often include updated treating specialist reports that address work capacity in real-world terms ( i.e. hours, attendance, sitting/standing tolerance, concentration, flare-ups), not just a diagnosis.You are also entitled to obtain an expert report of your own in response.
Why getting help early can matter
TPD disputes can become technical fast. Regulators have also flagged that poor claims handling practices can create “frictions” that contribute to members withdrawing TPD claims.
A trusted TPD lawyer can help you challenge unrealistic “transferable skills” assumptions, obtain the right medical and vocational evidence, and push back effectively at review or dispute stage.