Remote Area Allowance (RAA) overseas absences 061-01070050

RAA is payable to a customer living in a remote area and can also be paid for temporary absences from that remote area for up to 8 weeks. These absences can include periods when the customer is temporarily overseas as long as the customer intends to return to the remote area.

RAA can be paid for temporary absences overseas for a maximum of 8 weeks if the customer left their remote area and went directly overseas. If the customer stayed somewhere else before their departure (for example, spent 2 weeks in Sydney with their daughter before going overseas), RAA is only payable for the remainder of the 8 weeks after their departure from the remote area (a further 6 weeks outside Australia). The 8 week period starts from the date the customer leaves the remote area, not the date they leave Australia.

RAA is not generally payable for a discretionary extension period.

RAA is not portable if the customer is paid under the 1 July 2004 portability provisions or the pre 20 September 2000 portability rules.

The additional component for an RAA child can also be paid for a temporary absence of up to 8 weeks from the remote area, including an overseas absence. It does not matter whether the child is travelling with the adult or by themselves, provided they remain a dependent Family Tax Benefit (FTB) child. Additional RAA should be cancelled 8 weeks after the parent or the child leaves the remote area, whichever comes first.

For RAA qualification purposes all remote areas are in Australia. If a customer is outside Australia then they cannot be in a remote area, and can only be paid RAA for the 8 weeks after they left the remote area.

RAA is not payable to people who are not Australian residents.

If a customer leaves Australia to live in another country RAA is cancelled from the date the customer leaves Australia.

A customer who has stopped living in Australia will not be able to claim RAA during any temporary returns to Australia.

The Department of Home Affairs generally advises when a customer or child leaves or returns to Australia. The Centrelink system uses the information to assesses the portability of payments and concession cards. The assessment will happen regardless of whether the customer has told Services Australia their travel details. Note: do not cancel Department of Home Affairs datalink activities.

Where the customer gives evidence they travelled on different dates, the agency should consider using those different dates, if both the following apply:

• the new dates are logical
• the results will be a better outcome for the customer

This most often happens if a customer passes through Australian customs on one day but the flight leaves the next day.

In many cases, customers do not have to tell the agency if they are leaving Australia temporarily for less than 6 weeks, or when they have returned from a temporary absence.

When customers do need to tell us about a departure before leaving Australia or when they have returned to Australia they can use the Travelling outside of Australia service. This service is in their Centrelink online account. If the travel or portability assessment is complex the online service will ask them to contact the agency.

Services Australia website lists when customers must tell the agency they are leaving or returning to Australia. The Resources page has a link.

RAA portability is correctly assessed when the Portability Script - Departures and Returns is used.

If the script is available, coding the absence from Australia should be done using the script.