Police TPD and income protection
what your super covers, and how payouts are taxed

The two covers do different jobs. Income protection replaces part of your salary while you can't work, usually for a limited period. TPD pays a lump sum if you're unlikely ever to work again. Many officers need both, and a long claim often moves from one to the other.

Death cover usually comes bundled with TPD. This guide focuses on the two that matter while you're alive and injured. For how a medical exit works in your force, see our police medical retirement guide.

Insurance inside super has to match a condition of release. Since 1 July 2014, SIS regulation 4.07D stops trustees providing insured benefits that don't line up with those conditions, though members who joined before then are treated differently. Two definitions do most of the work.

Any occupation vs own occupation

Moneysmart explains the difference. Own-occupation TPD pays if you can't work again in the job you were doing; it's more expensive and usually only available outside super. Any-occupation TPD pays only if you can't work in any job suited to your education, training or experience; it's cheaper but has a higher threshold.

An officer who can't go back on the road but could work in an office may not be 'totally and permanently disabled' under an any-occupation test.

That's the trap for police. Medical retirement asks whether you can do police duties. Most TPD in super asks whether you can do any suitable job. Many policies also require you to have been off work for a set period, often months, before they'll assess TPD.

Our state guides go into detail on each force's process and benefits.

NSW officers fund their own death and disability scheme. The NSW Government confirmed in August 2024 that officers would keep contributing 1.8% of salary when EPSS replaced Police Blue Ribbon Insurance. SASS/ABC officers contribute 0.88%.

One side benefit: income protection premiums under EPSS no longer count towards your concessional contributions cap. Our NSW medical retirement guide covers EPSS claims in detail.

Federal law makes funds turn off insurance in three situations unless you've opted in. These are in sections 68AAA to 68AAC of the SIS Act.

Funds can elect a dangerous occupation exception (s 68AAF) for emergency services workers as defined in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, which includes police. QSuper's board elected it for Queensland Police Service members in 2019. But the exception covers only the low-balance and under-25 rules.

1. 1

   Get the policy wording

   Before you claim

   Ask your fund or scheme for the exact definitions, waiting period, benefit period and any offset clauses.

2. 2

   Claim income protection early

   First weeks

   The waiting period runs from when you stop work. Lodge as soon as you know you'll be off longer than it.

3. 3

   Line up medical evidence

   Ongoing

   Treating doctors' reports should address the policy test in its own words: your own job, or any suitable job.

4. 4

   Claim TPD when the test fits

   Months in

   Many policies need a period off work first. Don't resign before you've checked how that affects the claim.

5. 5

   Ask for reasons if refused

   If declined

   Request written reasons and every report relied on, then use the fund's complaints process and, for APRA-regulated funds, AFCA.

Many policies reduce income protection by workers comp or other income, so you may not get both in full. If work caused the injury, see the workers comp guide for your force, for example AFP (Comcare) or South Australia.

Income protection doesn't start on day one. Moneysmart says waiting periods are typically anywhere from 14 days to two years. Police defaults sit in the middle, and your sick leave balance usually has to carry you until the waiting period ends.

If work caused the injury, workers comp should come first and usually pays more in the early months. Income protection policies commonly reduce the benefit by workers comp: CSC says so for PSSap, and NSW's EPSS is built as a top-up to workers comp. So the realistic picture is one payment topping up another, not two incomes.

For off-duty injuries and illnesses, income protection is often the only income replacement once sick leave runs out. That's when the waiting period and benefit period really matter. A 2-year benefit period, common in police defaults, can end before you're well enough to work or old enough to access super.

Where you go depends on who runs your cover. APRA-regulated funds must have an internal complaints process, and then you can go to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). Several police schemes are public sector schemes with their own review paths.

Whatever the path, ask for written reasons and copies of every medical report the decision relied on. Many refusals turn on the definition rather than the diagnosis, so a further report that addresses the exact policy wording can change the outcome. Your association can refer you to lawyers who run these claims.

A TPD lump sum from super is a disability super benefit if two medical practitioners certify that, because of ill-health, you're unlikely ever to work in a job you're reasonably qualified for. The ATO then adds a tax-free amount using this formula (ITAA 1997 s 307-145):

Tax-free uplift = benefit × days to last retirement day ÷ (service days + days to last retirement day)

The last retirement day is generally 65. But the ATO says that if your employment would have ended at a particular age, your last retirement day is when that would have happened. Queensland's compulsory retirement age is 60, which could shorten the period and shrink the tax-free part, as the second column shows. Ask your fund how it applies.

Under preservation age, the taxable component of a taxed element is taxed at the lower of your marginal rate or 22% including Medicare. An untaxed element (common in public sector schemes) is taxed at the lower of your marginal rate or 32%. A TPD payout from a policy held outside super is generally capital, not income, according to the ATO.

Income protection replaces salary, so it's taxed like salary. The ATO says you must declare income protection payments for lost wages, including workers compensation payments. Paid through super for temporary incapacity, it's taxed as a super income stream with no special rates.

The figures above illustrate income protection at 75% of the top NSW senior constable base salary, after income tax and Medicare on our 2026-27 calculator. Because tax is progressive, 75% of gross often means more than 75% of your old take-home pay.

Most police rely on cover inside super or a police scheme, and for good reason. The Police Federation of Australia told the Productivity Commission it's extremely difficult for police to find individual TPD and income protection outside public sector funds because of the dangerous nature of the work. WA's GESB lists police as a hazardous occupation category.

Don't cancel cover in super before replacement cover is in place, and never cancel with a health condition you'd have to declare. We cover individual income protection policies in our guide to police income protection insurance. This is general information, not advice: a licensed adviser can compare policies for your situation.

Considering leaving rather than claiming? Read resigning from the police first, because resignation can affect what you can still claim.