Income Protection Gave Me Breathing Room But Not Everyone Gets That Chance

When I was diagnosed with bowel cancer, I didn’t just lose my health, I lost the ability to work. And like so many Australians living with early-onset cancer, I was staring down the barrel of rent, bills, groceries, and medical costs without the energy or physical capacity to keep earning an income. But I had something most young patients don’t: income protection insurance.

And that changed everything.

What Is Income Protection?

Income protection is an insurance product, often bundled with your super or offered through your employer, that pays out a portion of your regular income if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury. For me, it meant a monthly payment that helped cover the basics. Not luxury. Not full income replacement. Just enough to breathe. Just enough to not fall apart financially while already dealing with the emotional and physical hell of cancer.

I didn’t apply for it. I didn’t even realise how valuable it was until I needed it. It was automatically included in my work benefits. And if I’d been diagnosed even a couple of years earlier, when I was at a different job that didn’t offer it, I would’ve had nothing.

This isn’t a story about how clever or prepared I was. It’s a story about how lucky I was. Because for a lot of people? That support simply doesn’t exist.

The Harsh Reality for Young Australians Without It

Let’s be clear: income protection is rare among young people. Most of us don’t think we’ll ever need it. Many don’t know it exists. And unless it’s included in a job’s default superannuation setup or offered as part of a salary package, you’re probably not covered.

So what happens if you’re 28, diagnosed with cancer, and can’t work? You go to Centrelink, right? That’s what the safety net is for.

Except, here’s where it gets messed up, you might not qualify. You might be too “well” to get the Disability Support Pension, or your partner might earn “too much” for you to get JobSeeker or Carer Payment. There’s no universal sick leave. No automatic income coverage. And the system doesn’t care that cancer treatment makes working impossible.

Here’s just a glimpse of what I’ve seen:

• A young guy with stage 3 bowel cancer whose contract job ended right before his diagnosis. No sick leave, no Centrelink eligibility. He drained his savings in months.
• A 33-year-old woman who worked full-time until chemo side effects left her bedridden. Her partner earned “too much” for support, so they went from two incomes to one overnight, while juggling rent, utilities, groceries, and medical expenses. No income protection. No DSP. No way to stay afloat.
• A single mum who kept working through chemo, not because she was strong or brave, but because if she didn’t, her kids wouldn’t eat. Her oncologist told her to stop. Centrelink told her she wasn’t eligible. She chose survival. Literally.

I’ve never stopped thinking about them.

This System Wasn’t Built for Us

If you’re in your 20s or 30s, cancer is already rare. So the system doesn’t expect you. Private health? Most people only get it to dodge the tax. Income protection? That’s something you look into when you’ve got a mortgage and kids, not when you’re still paying off your HECS debt and budgeting $80 a week for groceries.

But cancer doesn’t care how young you are. And when it hits early, the financial fallout is often just as brutal as the diagnosis itself.

We’re living through a growing wave of early-onset cancer cases and the safety nets haven’t caught up. No one teaches you what questions to ask your super fund. No one warns you how slow, confusing and soul-crushing Centrelink can be. And no one tells you that you might fall through every single gap and be left with nothing but a GoFundMe and a pile of bills.

What Helped Me And Might Help You

I was lucky to have income protection. That’s the truth. But there were other things that helped too and if you’re navigating this, here are a few things worth checking:

• Check your super fund. Some industry super funds include income protection or total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance as default. Call them. Ask. Don’t assume.
• If you had to stop work due to illness, talk to your HR or payroll team. Some employers have income protection, sick leave banks, or EAP services that can help.
• Don’t be afraid to play the “cancer card.” It sounds rough, but it works. When I told my bank I was going through chemo, they helped me out. My telco company offered a hardship arrangement. People are often more helpful than the system but only if you tell them what’s going on.
• Ask a social worker for help navigating Centrelink. Hospital-based social workers know the loopholes. They can help with letters, appeals, and even emergency grants.
• Document everything. Keep records of medical appointments, letters from your oncologist, test results, anything that proves you can’t work. You’ll need it for claims.

If You’re Privileged, Use That Privilege

If you’ve got income protection, if you’re still earning, if you’ve got a partner or family supporting you, that’s not something to feel guilty about. But it is something to be conscious of. Because it’s a game-changer. And not everyone has it.

Don’t assume your situation is the norm. It’s not.

And if you’re in a position to speak up, to advocate for better systems, to educate your mates, to support others financially or emotionally, then please, do it. Because we need more voices calling out the gaps. More stories that expose how unfair this is. More pressure to make income support something people don’t have to win the employment lottery to access.

Final Thought

I’m not smarter or stronger or better prepared than the people who didn’t get income protection, I just got lucky. But luck shouldn’t be the only thing standing between you and financial ruin. We can’t fix the system overnight, but we can keep pointing out where it fails and do what we can to lift up the ones falling through the cracks.