Treatment and compensation combined
A TPD claim isn’t just paperwork — it’s proof that your injury or illness has permanently changed your life. You need us to get things right.
Can’t Get Back to Work?
If you have suffered a serious injury or illness and can no longer perform the work you once did, you may be entitled to a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) insurance claim through your superannuation fund.
- No Win, No Fee
- Free first consultation
- One lawyer, start to finish
- Gold Coast · Brisbane · Sunshine Coast
Free online claim check
Check your claim in about a minute
Four quick questions about what happened, and we’ll show you how the deadline applies to you — then a lawyer reviews your answers and calls you back.
- Completely free
- About a minute
- No obligation
Start your free claim check
Tell us what happened and a lawyer will review it and call you back, usually the same business day.
Mitch will review your answers
This check gives general information about how the scheme works. It isn’t legal advice about your circumstances, and it doesn’t create a lawyer–client relationship. If you’re near a deadline, call (07) 5627 0321.
What you get
Free health & compensation assessment
Get instant clarity. Your legal team and treating health professionals work as one unit from your very first meeting.
No Win, No Fee
Every TPD and superannuation insurance claim we take runs on No Win, No Fee. You focus on your health.
The law
TPD & super insurance claims: the legal framework
TPD and superannuation insurance claims are governed by federal legislation including the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth), the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) and the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), along with the specific terms of your super fund’s group insurance policy.
Understanding your policy is everything.
TPD insurance pays a lump sum if you become totally and permanently disabled and are unlikely ever to work again. But the devil is in the definition — and insurers know most people don’t read the fine print until it’s too late.
“Own occupation” vs “any occupation”
Some policies (typically held before certain industry changes) define TPD as being unable to work in your own occupation — the job you were doing when you became disabled. Others use a stricter “any occupation” definition, meaning you must be unable to work in any job suited to your education, training or experience. The difference can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Income Protection insurance
Many super funds also include Income Protection (IP) insurance, which pays a portion of your income (typically 75–85%) if you’re temporarily unable to work due to illness or injury. Benefit periods vary from 2 years to age 65.
Death and terminal illness benefits
Super policies often include death cover and terminal illness benefits, which may be claimable in addition to or instead of TPD.
| Governing legislation | Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, Insurance Contracts Act 1984, Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) |
|---|---|
| What TPD pays | A lump sum where you are unlikely ever to work again |
| Key definitions | “Own occupation” or “any occupation” — the difference can be hundreds of thousands of dollars |
| Income protection | Typically 75–85% of income, for benefit periods from 2 years to age 65 |
| Time limits | Set by your policy, not by statute. Some require a claim within 12 months of ceasing work. |
| If denied | Internal dispute resolution, then AFCA, or court proceedings |
| Our fees | No Win, No Fee on approved matters. No uplift fees, no percentages. |
Time limits vary by policy
Unlike statutory compensation schemes, TPD claim time limits are set by your specific policy — and insurers enforce them strictly. Some policies require claims within 12 months of ceasing work. Others have different triggers. Delays can be fatal to your claim.
Dispute resolution
If your claim is denied, you can dispute it through the super fund’s internal process, then escalate to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) — or commence court proceedings.
Eligibility
Who can make a TPD or super insurance claim?
You may be entitled to make a TPD claim if you have superannuation with insurance cover and you’ve become unable to work due to illness or injury. Most Australians have this insurance without realising it — it’s time to check.
Income protection claims may apply if:
- You’re temporarily unable to work due to injury or illness
- You’re working reduced hours due to your condition
- You’re in rehabilitation and not yet back to full capacity
Not sure if you have a claim — or even if you have insurance?
That’s exactly why your first step should be a free assessment. We’ll find your policies, review your cover, and tell you exactly what you’re entitled to.
When TPD claims succeed
These are the situations we see most often. If one describes you, you may already be insured for it.
- A serious physical injury that prevents you returning to your occupation
- A chronic illness that has ended your working life
- A psychological condition preventing you from working
- A stroke, heart attack or other major medical event
- Chronic pain that makes sustained work impossible
- A degenerative condition that has progressively worsened
- Receiving workers’ compensation, with a permanent injury
- Injured in a car accident and unable to return to your career
- Multiple conditions that combined prevent you from working
Conditions
Common conditions we help claim for
Physical conditions
- Spinal injuries and chronic back conditions
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Stroke and cardiovascular events
- Cancer and terminal illness
- Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia
- Degenerative conditions (MS, Parkinson’s, arthritis)
- Chronic pain syndromes
- Serious orthopaedic injuries
Psychological conditions
- Major depressive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety disorders
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia and psychotic disorders
- Burnout and adjustment disorders
Combined conditions: many TPD claims involve both physical and psychological components — chronic pain leading to depression, or a workplace injury causing PTSD. Our integrated approach means we treat and document the full picture of your disability.
Our approach
Our approach to your TPD & super claim
Your treatment and legal strategy are handled by one integrated team from day one, so your medical evidence is comprehensive and your claim is soundly built from the start.
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First consultation
Free and with no obligation. We’ll find your policies and review your cover.
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Meet a lawyer
A senior insurance claims lawyer takes carriage of your matter.
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A healthcare professional contacts you
Within 48 hours, a healthcare professional will contact you to schedule the start of your recovery journey.
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Start your claim
We build and lodge the claim carefully — before a decline, not after one.
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Start receiving treatment
Treatment continues and is documented to support the claim.
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Access allied health
Specialist reports and allied health coordinated through the same team.
Why us
Why you need Lifestyle Injury Lawyers
Here’s what we do differently. Or more accurately: here’s what no other firm in Australia does.
The quality and timing of your medical evidence doesn’t just affect your TPD claim — it determines whether you receive your payout or spend years fighting for what’s rightfully yours.
Strategic, comprehensive, properly documented medical evidence does two things most firms can’t deliver:
Demonstrates the true extent of your disability
Generic GP reports won’t cut it. You need specialist evidence that directly addresses the policy definition.
Eliminates the gaps insurers exploit
When your records are thorough, consistent and strategically prepared, insurers can’t cherry-pick inconsistencies or claim “insufficient evidence.”
But here’s the problem: most lawyers take your claim after you’ve already submitted inadequate evidence, received a denial, and lost months of time. They’re playing catch-up from a position of weakness.
At Lifestyle Injury Lawyers, your treating health professionals and your legal team work together from your very first contact. We help you build the medical evidence that wins claims — before you lodge, not after you’re rejected. Assessment + Treatment + Compensation. One team. One strategy. Maximum payout.
Our model
The only integrated approach to compensation and recovery
Lifestyle Injury Lawyers is Queensland’s first — and still only — fully integrated injury treatment and compensation law firm.
Assessment + Treatment + Compensation. Not three separate struggles with three separate professionals. One seamless path to the payout you’ve been paying premiums for.
Your injury is an event. Your recovery is a journey. And your TPD payout is what you’ve earned — we’re here to make sure you get it.
When illness or injury has ended your career, the last thing you need is another fight. Another phone call. Another form. Another rejection letter. We handle it all — and we do it differently.
- A senior insurance claims lawyer and registered treatment professionals assigned from day one.
- We review your policy and identify exactly what evidence you need.
- We coordinate your treatment and medical reports.
- We build your claim strategically — so when it lands on the insurer’s desk, they know they’re dealing with professionals who won’t accept “no” for an answer.
What you must know
What you must know about TPD & super claims
Here’s what most people aren’t told about TPD and superannuation insurance claims.
Read more
You’re probably insured for hundreds of thousands of dollars — and have no idea.
Most working Australians have Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) insurance and Income Protection insurance bundled into their superannuation. It’s automatically deducted from your super balance. You’ve been paying premiums for years. But when you actually need to claim? That’s when you discover the system is built to make it as difficult as possible.
Super fund trustees and their insurers don’t make it easy. Confusing policy definitions. Mountains of medical evidence required. Endless delays. “Independent” medical examinations designed to find reasons to reject you. And if your claim is denied? Most people give up — exactly what the insurer is counting on.
How it usually goes
The path most people take when claiming on insurance they have been paying for through super.
Injury or illness
You can no longer do the work you built your life around.
You lodge it yourself
The insurer comes back requesting more and more evidence.
Months pass
You wait, with no decision and no income.
Declined or lowballed
Many people stop here — which is what the process relies on.
You’ve probably heard the horror stories. Maybe you’re living one right now.
We built Lifestyle Injury Lawyers because that system abandons people at their most vulnerable — and we refuse to be part of it.
The difference
Why you need us
Super fund insurers decline TPD claims every day. Claims are delayed, more medical reports are requested, and applicants are sent to the insurer’s own doctors. Many people simply run out of energy before a decision comes.
Read more
That is what the process relies on.
The gap between what you submit and what insurers need is where claims go to die. Incomplete medical evidence. The wrong policy definition addressed. Missing specialist reports. By the time most lawyers get involved, the insurer already has what it needs to decline you.
We close that gap before it opens.
Lifestyle Injury Lawyers is the only practice in Australia where a compensation lawyer and treating health professionals work side by side from your very first contact. We don’t just lodge your claim — we build it from the ground up. Your treatment supports your claim. Your medical evidence is coordinated and comprehensive. Your application reaches the insurer ready to succeed.
We’ve spent 10+ years exclusively helping Queenslanders navigate insurance claims. We know the super funds and their insurers, and we know what a claim needs to succeed the first time.
Your injury is an event. Your recovery is a journey. Your TPD payout is what you’ve earned — let’s go get it.
Let’s check your claim
Book your free consultation
If you can no longer do the work you once did, you may already be insured for it. Find out now, or call (07) 5627 0321.
- Don’t be just another number
- One lawyer from start to finish
- No uplift fees and no percentages
- Top-tier advice at a fraction of the price
- You’re meant to get the compensation, not us
Request a free consultation
Takes about a minute. We usually respond the same business day.
Common questions
TPD & super claim questions
What is a TPD claim?
It’s a claim on the Total and Permanent Disability insurance held inside your superannuation.
TPD cover pays a lump sum if you become totally and permanently disabled and are unlikely ever to work again. Most working Australians have this cover bundled into their super, deducted automatically from their balance, without realising it.
What’s the difference between “own occupation” and “any occupation”?
Own occupation asks whether you can return to your job. Any occupation asks whether you can do any job at all.
Any-occupation policies are stricter: you must be unable to work in any role suited to your education, training or experience. The difference between the two definitions can be hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is why reviewing your actual policy is the first thing we do.
How long do I have to make a TPD claim?
Time limits are set by your individual policy rather than by statute, and insurers apply them strictly.
Some policies require a claim within 12 months of ceasing work. Others have different triggers. Delays can be fatal to a claim, so it’s worth checking early.
What if my claim has already been declined?
A decline isn’t the end. You can use the fund’s internal dispute process, then escalate to AFCA or commence court proceedings.
Most declines come down to evidence that didn’t address the policy definition. That’s a fixable problem, and it’s the work we do.
Can I claim TPD as well as workers’ compensation?
Often yes. A TPD claim is separate from a statutory compensation claim and the two can run alongside each other.
If you’ve been receiving workers’ compensation and your injury is permanent, there may be a TPD entitlement in your super that nobody has mentioned.
How much does a TPD lawyer cost?
Every TPD and superannuation insurance claim we take runs on a No Win, No Fee basis, with no uplift fees and no percentages.
Your first consultation is free and carries no obligation.
Other claim types
Not a TPD claim?
Work claims
Injured at work or made ill by your job.
Workers’ compensationRoad claims
Injured in a motor vehicle accident that wasn’t your fault.
Road accident claimsPublic place claims
Slipped, tripped or fell on someone else’s property.
Public liability claimsOur approach
How treatment and legal work run as one system.
The Lifestyle Injury way