In order to qualify for domiciliary care allowance a child must have a disability so severe that it requires the child needing care and attention and/or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. This care and attention must be given by another person, effectively full-time so that the child can deal with the activities of daily living. The child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months.
Eligibility for domiciliary care allowance is not based primarily on the impairment or disease, but on the resulting lack of function of body or mind necessitating a degree of extra care and attention required; as such it is not possible to say in advance if a child diagnosed with any specific condition will qualify for a payment under the scheme. Every application is assessed on its individual merits by one of the Department's Medical Assessors and a medical opinion, based on the information submitted by the applicant in support of their claim, is offered in each case. The deciding officer then makes a decision having considered the medical opinion provided and all the other information available.