Telephone Allowance (TAL) overseas absences 061-01070060

TAL is usually payable where a customer is receiving certain Centrelink payments.

TAL can be paid for temporary departures, on any TAL payday which falls during the first 6 weeks of the absence. The TAL paydays are 1 January, 20 March, 1 July and 20 September.

TAL is not payable when:

• the customer has been absent from Australia for 6 weeks
• qualification otherwise ceases (for example, no longer a subscriber)
• the customer is no longer qualified for the main payment

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

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

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

When the Service Officer determines the customer's entitlement to their main payment, they may also need to decide whether TAL is payable and for how long.

TAL 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.

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.