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Proof of Life Certificate (AUS061) enquiries and cancellations 061-19120306

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For Centrelink International Services (CIS) staff only.

This document explains the process for:

  • staff answering Proof of Life Certificate (AUS061) phone enquiries
  • staff processing life certificates after payment has cancelled

Proof of Life Certificate (AUS061)

The AUS061 is used to make sure that a customer is still alive and entitled to receive their pension. The form helps the agency confirm a customer's identity and continuing eligibility while they are living overseas.

Proof of Life interventions

From December 2019, customers will need to provide a Proof of Life Certificate every 2 years, if all the following apply:

  • They get Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, or Carer Payment
  • They are 80 years old or above
  • They permanently live overseas

A Proof of Life letter is sent to the customer requesting them to complete and return a Proof of Life Certificate to Services Australia within 91 days.

If the customer fails to:

  • respond to the request, the customer's payments may be suspended pending a response
  • respond after a further 91 days, the customer's payments may be cancelled and the intervention finalised

Proof of Life interventions are processed by Compliance Officers (COs).

Where a Proof of Life intervention has been finalised and the customer contacts after their payment has been cancelled reason POL (failure to return a valid Proof of Life Certificate), Centrelink International Services (CIS) Officers:

  • issue a new AUS061, and
  • process the restoration when the customer returns the certificate

Customer contact

Customers are provided the Centrelink International Services (CIS) number on the letter issued with the AUS061. Calls to the CIS number will be routed to the Compliance Team via the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) option. The Compliance Team will deal with the following enquiries:

  • extensions to lodge the certificate
  • suspensions or cancellations if the certificate has not been returned
  • or where updates are needed because of the AUS061 (for example, customer has returned to Australia)

Note: the Compliance Team will warm transfer all customer enquiries not related to the Proof of Life (AUS061) intervention to the appropriate queue, such as CIS, FAO, providing the connecting officer with the details of the customer’s query.

CIS will manage post-cancellation enquiries and actions.

The Resources page has information about authorised certifiers, external links, and links to the Services Australia website.

Proof of Life interventions