Disability support pensioners whose health is likely to improve could soon be medically reviewed - and kicked off the payment.
A new report from the commonwealth auditor has outlined concerns about the numbers of people who remain on the pension for long periods of time even though they might be able to work.
On average, disability support pensioners spend more than 13 years receiving payments.
The audit found that while the Department of Human Services routinely checks thousands of clients' eligibility every year, those who had payments cancelled or reduced were low.
It said people who are not impacted by government policy, which currently requires reviews for those under 35, are unlikely to be checked up on and may continue to receive the pension "even though their medical conditions no longer justify it".
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The department in response agreed to advice from the auditor to identify those whose medical conditions have a greater chance of improvement in a bid to curb the numbers of long-term claimants.
The audit found that there were financial incentives for people to claim the disability pension, which is $250 per fortnight more than unemployment benefits, and work participation was low.
More than 820,000 Australians with disability received the payment at the end of June 2014, at an annual cost to taxpayers of around $16 billion.
