Can I claim TPD after a host-employer placement fails due to attendance reliability?

Short answer

Often yes. A host-employer placement or externally arranged modified-duties block is usually a supported trial. If attendance drops, shifts are missed, or duties cannot be maintained despite support, that can still be consistent with a TPD claim. The core issue is sustainable work capacity in ordinary paid employment, not whether a short placement was attempted.

Why attendance reliability is a key issue

• Support-adjusted setting: host placements commonly include supervision, flexibility, and lighter duties not available in standard jobs.
• Reliability threshold: regular attendance and predictable output are central to employability; repeated absences can be highly relevant.
• Failed trial does not equal full capacity: trying a placement can show effort and rehabilitation engagement without proving long-term work sustainability.
• Policy definition remains decisive: evidence still needs to align with own-occupation or any-occupation wording.

Evidence that usually helps

• A clear chronology: referral to placement, expected hours/tasks, attendance pattern, symptom fluctuations, and cessation date.
• Placement or provider records showing accommodations, missed shifts, reduced tolerance, and reasons the block ended.
• Treating-clinician evidence linking symptom variability to attendance unreliability and reduced functional capacity.
• Consistent capacity descriptions across TPD, workers compensation, income protection, and Centrelink records (if relevant).

Common pitfalls

• Reporting attendance in broad terms without day-level records where reliability is the main issue.
• Under-explaining why support conditions in placement do not reflect ordinary labour-market roles.
• Allowing conflicting timelines across different schemes or medical reports.
• Lodging before placement outcome documents and clinical opinions are properly aligned.

Related guides

Can I claim TPD after employer-modified duties end due to symptom relapse? · Can I claim TPD after unpaid trial duties arranged by employment services? · Can I claim TPD after a short work conditioning program?

Need help organising placement and attendance evidence?