Return to Australia procedures for service centre and Smart Centre staff for non-pension payments and cards 061-03050000

The Department of Home Affairs generally advises when a customer or child leaves or returns to Australia. The Centrelink system uses the information to assess 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.

If the customer and/or child has an active immigration link, their return date will generally be automatically updated when they return to Australia.

For those customers or children who do not have an active immigration link, the date they returned to Australia will need to be manually recorded.

The Portability Script - Departures and Returns cannot process a return in all cases, for example, customers:

• returning to Australia to live after living in another country, or
• paid under an International Social Security Agreement (other than the New Zealand (NZ) Agreement)

If the script cannot complete the assessment or coding, it will:

• advise this, and
• create a review for manual follow-up of the activity, where needed

In these cases, follow procedures relevant to the payment type to manually action the return to Australia.

The following customer details must be checked at every contact and updated, if needed:

• address (including postal address)
• telephone contact details

If a customer has a change in circumstances on their return, for example, begins to pay rent, or resumes part time work, they must still contact Services Australia within 14 days as usual.

If a customer remains outside Australia after their payment has stopped for a portability related reason, continuation of payment on their return to Australia may be possible. Generally, payment can be automatically or manually restored if they return to Australia within 13 weeks of their payment stopping.

Note: if the customer is receiving Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) in addition to their primary payment, PES will suspend (EPF/SUS) if the primary payment suspends. PES cannot be restored if there is a gap in entitlement, the customer will need to reclaim PES. PES may need to be cancelled to allow restoration of the primary payment (if applicable). See Cancellation of Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and ABSTUDY PES.

A customer may need to attend an appointment at their local service centre on their return to Australia if they are subject to mutual obligation requirements. Customers with reporting requirements are re-profiled as a notification reporter during a period of absence from Australia. Upon return to Australia, their reporting requirements are again automatically re-profiled.

PPL/DAP stops if a customer loses residence qualification when they leave Australia.

Payment stops:

• from the date of departure if the customer is not qualified from departure, such as the holder of a visa subclass 060, 070, 449 or 786, or the holder of a visa subclass 309, 785, 790 or 820 who did not go overseas for an approved reason, or
• at the end of the approved portability period if they are a holder of a visa subclass 309, 785, 790 or 820 who went overseas for an approved reason

If the PPL child is born or adopted:

• on or after 1 July 2023, PPL will stop on the relevant date. If the customer returns to Australia within 2 years of their child’s birth or adoption and is residentially qualified for PPL, they may be able to access their PPL days
• on or after 1 July 2020 and before 1 July 2023, the PPL period will cancel on the relevant date. The PPL period cannot be restored on their return. If the customer returns to Australia within 2 years of their child’s birth or adoption and is residentially qualified for PPL, they may be able to access Flexible PPL days

Note: if a DAP customer loses residence qualification when they leave Australia, DAP will cancel. It cannot be restored. This is even if they did not receive the maximum DAP period for their child.

For more details, see Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Paid Parental Leave scheme customer/child going overseas

A customer receiving SpB should contact Services Australia on their return to Australia if:

• their payment stopped while they were overseas, and
• has not been automatically restored

If the customer’s payment has:

• suspended because they were outside Australia and has not been automatically restored on return, restore it manually if they remain qualified. Arrears are not payable for the period between the end of the portability period (if applicable) and their return to Australia
• cancelled, they will need to lodge a new claim

Concession cards are portable for temporary absences from Australia up to 6 weeks from departure (19 weeks for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card), subject to continued eligibility. This includes non-income tested Pensioner Concession Cards.

If a Pension Concession Card (PCC) or automatically issued Health Care Card (HCC) customer returns to Australia:

• before the end of the portability period and entitlement has continued throughout the period of absence, the original card remains current and a new card is not needed
• after the portability period has ended and their associated payment is current or restored, a new card will be issued

Customers whose Low Income Health Care Card (LIC), Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC), ex Carer Allowance Health Care Card (EHC) or Foster Child Health Care Card (FST) concession card has been cancelled cannot have their card restored at all. These customers will need to reclaim.

Holders of Commonwealth Seniors Health Cards who return to Australia after their card has cancelled may be able to undertake a verbal reclaim in certain cases.

For more information, see Related links.

If a customer is not residing in Australia they are not entitled to any add-ons including concession cards if they return to Australia temporarily, unless they are paid under the Agreement with New Zealand.

If the customer is repeatedly absent from Australia for long periods with short returns to renew their portability, it may indicate that they are actually residing overseas.

For non-pension payments, the customer must remain an Australian resident (that is, they meet the legal residence requirements and are residing in Australia) to remain qualified. The Service Officer must be satisfied of this each time a customer leaves Australia, or payment should be cancelled immediately on departure. If an absence, or a period of multiple absences with short returns to Australia between the absences, exceeds approximately 3 years, continuing Australian residence is questionable.

If a customer whose payment has been suspended or cancelled returns to Australia after multiple absences, ensure they are still residing in Australia before their payment is restored or re-granted. If payment is restored or re-granted, any future absences should be checked very carefully before making the portability decision to ensure that the customer is still residing in Australia.Most customers do not have to remain in Australia for any minimum period before payment is portable again and, if the customer is paid a proportional rate, their rate will increase from the date of their return to Australia. However, some payments are affected by return rules and other payments may be affected by former resident rules.

Customers who cease to be Australian residents and lose entitlement to Centrelink payments will need to return to Australia to reside before they can lodge a claim and qualify for payment. Their status as an Australian resident will need to be assessed.

Returning to Australia may affect subsequent portability if the customer is receiving one of these payments:

• Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• Dad and Partner Pay (DAP)
• Family Tax Benefit (FTB)
• Newborn Supplement (NBS)
• Parental Leave Pay (PPL)
• Single Income Family Supplement (SIFS)
• Stillborn Baby Payment (SBP)

A customer must generally remain in Australia for at least 6 weeks before these payments are portable again if:

• these payments ceased to be payable or reduced for portability reasons as they were outside Australia for more than 6 weeks, and
• they have returned to Australia and resumed payment

The exact rules vary according to which payment(s) the customer receives.

A customer who is planning on returning to Australia and then going overseas again should contact before their return to Australia. Service Officers can then advise them what effect any return to Australia may have on their future payments if they travel outside Australia again.

The 6 week return rule on payments allowing extended portability for approved study means there is no interruption of the portability period where the customer:

• has an approved overseas study absence granted, and
• returns to Australia for up to 6 weeks

There is no requirement to make a new decision.