Centrelink Medical Certificate (SU415): What It Is and How to Get One
Medically Reviewed by Dr Ali Zavery
Last updated on 16.07.2026
If you receive JobSeeker, Youth Allowance or another Centrelink payment and you’re temporarily too unwell to meet your mutual obligation requirements, Centrelink needs medical evidence. This is usually the Centrelink Medical Certificate, known as form SU415. This page explains what the form is, who can complete it, what Centrelink accepts, and how a telehealth GP consultation can sometimes help for straightforward, short-term illness.
What is an SU415 form?
The SU415 is Services Australia’s official medical certificate form. It’s different from a standard work or uni certificate: it asks the doctor to describe your condition, how it affects your capacity (including whether you can work or study for at least 8 hours per week), and how long the incapacity is expected to last. Centrelink uses it to decide whether you’re granted a temporary exemption from job search and other mutual obligation requirements. Only a medical doctor can complete and sign it. Doctors can also lodge the digital version (SU683) directly through Health Professional Online Services (HPOS).
Can an online doctor complete a Centrelink medical certificate?
Sometimes yes: for short-term, straightforward illness. A telehealth GP can assess you by video, and if clinically appropriate, complete the SU415/SU683 for a temporary incapacity (for example, gastro, flu, an injury, or a mental health flare-up expected to resolve). Every certificate is at the doctor’s discretion and should follow a real-time consultation.
However, Centrelink policy favours evidence from a doctor who knows your history, especially for: initial Disability Support Pension (DSP) claims, long-term or permanent conditions, repeated back-to-back exemptions, and complex functional assessments. In those scenarios your regular GP is the appropriate choice.
How it works with Qoctor
- Book a video consultation, choose a “GP consultation” ($49.99)
- Speak with an AHPRA-registered Australian GP by video call. This is a real clinical assessment, not a form-filling service.
- If appropriate, the doctor completes your certificate. In many cases we can lodge the digital Centrelink Medical Certificate (SU683) directly with Services Australia through HPOS, which is often faster and means there’s nothing for you to print or upload. Otherwise, you receive the completed SU415 via email to lodge through your myGov Centrelink account.
What to have ready for your consultation
- It can be useful to have your Medicare card to hand, if you have one, and photo ID, just in case we need to verify anything.
- Your Centrelink Reference Number (CRN), if you have it.
- Details of your condition and any current treatment, plus any related letters or results you have
- A rough idea of your current Centrelink requirements (for example, job search or activity hours), so the doctor can address your capacity accurately
What Centrelink typically accepts (quick facts)
- Exemptions for temporary incapacity are usually granted for a defined period (commonly up to 13 weeks at a time, but an online doctor will generally refer you to your regular doctor for periods of more than a week or to); the doctor states the expected duration on the form. In limited circumstances, exemptions for job seekers can extend up to a maximum of 24 months.
- The certificate must show the date of the consultation; it can cover a period of illness that has already started, but the doctor must be able to genuinely assess it.
- A standard medical certificate is generally NOT sufficient for a mutual obligation exemption. Centrelink wants the SU415/SU683.
References
FAQs
Yes. Our doctors only issue a Centrelink certificate when they can properly assess your condition, and its effect on your capacity, through a telehealth consultation. They may instead advise you to see your regular GP, or to register with a local GP if you don’t have one. This is most likely where the certificate would cover an extended period, your condition is long-term, or you’ve already had certificates for the same illness. In those situations, continuity of care matters: a doctor who knows your history is better placed to assess ongoing incapacity, and Centrelink also tends to place more weight on evidence from your usual doctor. For short-term illness, a telehealth certificate is usually appropriate. If our doctor decides they can’t issue one, you may be eligible for a refund.
Yes, you can get a regular medical certificate as well as a Centrelink certificate. If you also need a standard medical certificate for your employer or university, the doctor can issue one during the same consultation at no extra cost; it’s included in the consultation fee.
Centrelink accepts certificates from registered medical practitioners. Acceptance of any certificate depends on their assessment of your circumstances. However, long-term or recurrent conditions are best handled by your usual GP.
Yes, in the sense most people mean: a doctor can issue a certificate today that covers a period of illness that has already started, provided the absence is recent and consistent with your history and the doctor’s assessment. The certificate will always show today’s date as the date of the consultation, which is part of what makes it valid. Whether to certify an earlier period is always the doctor’s judgement, made during a real-time consultation.
That depends on how your doctor issues it. If they lodge the SU683 digitally, it goes to Services Australia directly. If you receive an SU415, upload it through your Centrelink online account in myGov, or lodge it at a Centrelink service centre.
They have the same purpose; SU683 is the digital version lodged directly with Centrelink through HPOS, which only GPs can use, so there’s no paper to lose. The SU415 is the paper version, which can be printed out and filled manually.
Yes, this can sometimes be done for short-term conditions, after a video consultation with a registered GP, and subject to the doctor’s assessment. For Disability Support Pension (DSP) and long-term or recurring conditions (lasting more than a week or so), you should see your regular GP instead.
