Can I work part-time and still claim TPD insurance?

Working part time and claiming on a Total and Permanent Disability policy is difficult by design. Every panel TPD definition is a 'total' test. The insurer must be satisfied you are unlikely ever again to engage in the relevant occupation.

Sustained part-time work in that occupation is usually evidence against the claim, not for it. The rules are nuanced, though, and depend on whether the work is in your own occupation, what it pays, and whether you are on a structured rehabilitation trial.

The IMFL panel is AIA, Zurich, TAL, OnePath, ClearView, NEOS, Encompass, Acenda and Futura.

The 'total' test rules out ongoing material work in the relevant occupation

AIA Priority Protection (PDS 9 November 2025, Section 12.1, page 221) requires the insured to have been 'absent from work in your Own Occupation and have not worked for an uninterrupted period of at least three consecutive months from the Date of Disablement'.

If you are still performing the duties of your own occupation, or (under an any occupation definition) any occupation for which you are reasonably suited, the three-month qualifying absence is not satisfied. The definition cannot open. This is structural, not discretionary.

Where each panel insurer states the absence-from-work requirement

• AIA Priority Protection: PDS 9 November 2025, Section 12.1, page 221.
• TAL Accelerated Protection: PDS 12 December 2024, Section 9, page 88.
• OnePath OneCare: PDS 1 October 2025, pages 32 to 33.
• Zurich Wealth Protection: PDS 1 November 2025, Definitions section.
• NEOS Protection: PDS 6 December 2024, page 67.
• ClearView ClearChoice: PDS May 2024 (update effective 5 June 2025), pages 40 to 41.
• Encompass Protection: PDS 26 September 2025, pages 16 to 17.
• Acenda Insurance: PDS 27 September 2025, page 19.
• Futura Protection: PDS 1 October 2025, pages 21 to 24.

Earnings thresholds in the 'unlikely ever again' limb

Once the three months have passed, the unlikely-ever test asks whether you are likely to return to the relevant occupation. Three panel insurers make this measurable with an earnings threshold rather than leaving it open:

| Insurer | Threshold | PDS reference | |---|---|---| | TAL Accelerated Protection | Comparison occupation must pay more than 25% of last 12 months' earnings | PDS 12 December 2024, Section 9, page 88 | | ClearView ClearChoice | Comparison occupation must generate at least 25% of average monthly earnings in the most recent 12 months of gainful employment prior to claim | PDS May 2024 (update effective 5 June 2025), pages 40 to 41 | | Encompass Protection | Similar 25% earnings threshold | PDS 26 September 2025, pages 16 to 17 |

Low-paid, low-hours work that materially fails this 25% threshold is not automatically claim-defeating under Any Occupation, provided the medical evidence supports the permanence test.

Rehabilitation work trials

Returning to work as part of a structured rehabilitation program is treated differently from independently restarting work.

Several panel products explicitly contemplate rehabilitation work trials inside their TPD or Income Protection wording:

• Encompass Protection (PDS 26 September 2025, page 46): Rehabilitation Expense Benefit pays a third-party provider for occupational rehabilitation services, including retraining courses and special equipment to assist a return to work.
• TAL Accelerated Protection (PDS 12 December 2024, Income Protection section): Rehabilitation Benefit funds participation in a rehabilitation program up to 12 times the monthly sum insured.
• Futura Protection (PDS 1 October 2025, page 65): Rehabilitation Benefit for income protection claims.
• ClearView ClearChoice (PDS May 2024 with update effective 5 June 2025): supports retraining and reskilling where appropriate.

See how rehabilitation benefit works in TPD insurance for the per-insurer detail.

Partial Disability and Partial TPD branches

Not every TPD policy has a partial branch. Where one exists, it operates differently to the full TPD payout.

• Zurich Wealth Protection (PDS 1 November 2025, page 12, TPD Advancement Benefit): advances 25% of the TPD benefit amount, up to $500,000, for loss of use of a hand or foot or loss of sight in one eye.
• Zurich Platinum TPD: adds a Partial Impairment Benefit (40% or 65% of the TPD benefit amount) for impairment of two or three extended activities of daily living.

These are partial pay-outs structured into the cover, not a workaround for the total test on the full benefit. The general Partial Disability glossary entry explains how partial benefits sit alongside total benefits.

Practical considerations

• A failed attempt to return to work, properly documented by treating specialists, can support a TPD claim by demonstrating residual capacity is below the threshold.
• Volunteer or unpaid work, intermittent low-hours work, or vocational retraining may not be claim-defeating, but every panel insurer will request the detail.
• Income from a different role you can sustain is the harder problem under Any Occupation than under Own Occupation cover.

For the broader definitional distinction see Own Occupation versus Any Occupation TPD. For the dispute pathway if a claim is declined on these grounds see what happens if my TPD claim is rejected.