Gatekeeping disability income support: A conceptual model

In most developed countries, disability income support caseloads are on the rise. Little empirical knowledge exists, however, about how policy-makers design these programmes, contributing to caseload growth. This article specifically explores how the boundary between who is eligible and who is not for disability income support is drawn in Australia and Canada. Forty-five interviews were conducted between March 2012 and September 2013 with informants who were or are currently involved in designing disability income support in these jurisdictions. Analysis followed the fundamental steps of grounded theory. Findings revealed that the informants describe this process as “gatekeeping,” which can be subdivided into two stages: (a) establishing the gate (definition of disability) and (b) operating the gate (who interprets the definition and how). I present the results using a conceptual model I developed, deconstructing each stage of the process of gatekeeping into discrete units of analysis. The model is useful for future comparative studies, providing a historical perspective and allows policy researchers to concentrate on specific aspects of the process in detail, which could lead to finding solutions to the challenges related to disability income support.