Disability Support Pension (DSP) customer going overseas 008-03120000

DSP is not portable at all if the customer:

• is subject to former resident rules
• has already used the allowable 28 days of general portability in the previous 12 month period and is not leaving Australia for an approved portability reason
• is leaving Australia to live in another country and is not exempt from the ongoing residence requirement, or
• is leaving Australia to live in another country and qualifies for DSP due to a qualifying residence exemption as the holder, or former holder, of a permanent refugee visa

Unless another portability provision applies, DSP customers can be paid outside Australia for a temporary absence of, or a number of absences totalling, 4 weeks (28 days) in a rolling 12 month period. This is often referred to as ‘general portability period’.

Any day paid DSP while outside Australia is included in the 4 weeks, with the exception of approved temporary absences for acute family crisis (AFC), humanitarian (HUM) or eligible medical treatment (MED) reasons. The assessment includes absences from Australia in the 12 months before the customer's date of departure.

The 4 week portability rules applies to most international social security agreements, when the DSP customer travels to a third country (not Australia or the agreement country). For more information, see Customers paid using an international agreement.

If a customer uses their full 28 days ‘general portability period’ and:

• they remain overseas: payment suspends, unless granted an extension
• they have subsequent travel within a rolling 12 month period: payment suspends from date of departure, unless travelling for an approved reason.

If DSP suspends after the customer has used all their allowed 28 days in a rolling 12 month period and they are overseas when their 28 days start accruing again (i.e. 12 months since they used some of their 28 payable days), payment remains suspended. The customer must return to Australia before DSP can be payable overseas again. See Resources for an example..

DSP is portable for a limited time for a temporary departure in any of the following situations. If the customer is:

• departing temporarily:
• under the Medical Treatment Overseas Program (MTOP), DSP is portable for the duration of the treatment
• to undertake full time study outside Australia as part of their approved study, DSP is portable for the duration of the study (see full-time study provisions below)
• for an approved temporary absence, DSP is portable for up to 4 weeks
• for any other reason and continues to remain an Australian resident for DSP, DSP is portable for up to 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period
• severely disabled and is substantially dependent on, and living with, a family member posted outside Australia for work, DSP is portable for the duration of the posting

If the customer is leaving Australia temporarily and has not used 28 days of portability in the last 12 months, or they have used up their 28 days but, after explanation of the rules, accept that they will travel without payment, a decision can usually be made immediately over the phone.

If the temporary absence will be longer than the amount of portability days the customer has remaining, and they wish to be paid for more than 28 days within a 12 month period, the final decision as to how long payment can continue may not be possible until more information is received (for example medical or study information).

There is discretion to extend the period of portability in very limited circumstances. For example, if the customer has departed temporarily and is unable to return to Australia due to unforeseen circumstances such as hospitalisation or ill health. Refer these cases to Centrelink International Services (CIS).

Note: if a customer is travelling outside Australia frequently for long periods, they may be considered to have ceased to live in Australia. If this decision is made, qualification for DSP will stop, even if the customer returns to Australia regularly, unless they are exempt from the ongoing residence requirement.

Note: for full time study provisions, see ‘Full time study provisions’ section below.

A customer can be granted portability of DSP for an approved reason for a new departure even if they have no general portability days available (they have already used 28 days in the last 12 months).

If approved portability is granted but the assessment is not completed before the customer leaves Australia:

• payment may initially suspend on departure (reason SUS-O28) if they have zero regular portability days available, or
• they will initially be paid using any of the 28 days they have available, and
• the approved portability period will apply from departure date (which means, if a general portability period is replaced by approved portability, those days will be ‘credited’ back to the customer for later general portability), and
• arrears will be paid for some or all of the approved portability period, if applicable

Any available general portability days can be used immediately following the approved portability period. However, as approved portability can only be granted from departure, a customer cannot be paid their 28 days first and follow that with a period of approved portability.

If the main purpose of a customer's travel outside Australia is to study units of their full time approved Australian course, their DSP may be portable for the duration of the study as long as the customer stays enrolled in their full time course. DSP paid under these provisions is not subject to the proportional rate.

The approved study period may include additional travel time to allow them to prepare for the study and/or to finalise their affairs and return to Australia. It is reasonable to allow up to 10 days total additional time, but this may not be added to an overseas holiday period.

Any period paid DSP outside Australia due to overseas full time study provisions will be included in the 28 days of allowable portability in a rolling 12 month period. For example, a customer is approved for study overseas for 42 days, including travel time. Before departure they still have 28 days allowable portability remaining. The first 28 days of the approved study period will use up their regular allowable portability days, and customer will be paid for the remaining 14 days under the full time study provisions. When they return to Australia at the end of the course, the customer will have used their 28 days of allowable portability.

If the customer intends to have an overseas holiday before their approved study, payments will stop when the total holiday period exceeds their allowable portability period (they can be paid outside Australia for up to 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period before the approved study period). They will then be paid for the duration of the overseas course under the full time study provisions.

A customer may be paid for an overseas holiday before study commences, between overseas study periods and/or after an overseas study period finishes only if the total period paid DSP overseas (including the approved overseas study period) has not, or will not, exceed 28 days in a 12 month period.

DSP is portable indefinitely if the customer is:

• saved under 1 July 2004 provisions
• terminally ill and departing to live in their country of origin or to be with family
• assessed before departure as satisfying the 'no future work capacity' portability provisions, or
• travelling to an agreement country that covers DSP and is qualified for DSP under that agreement

From 1 July 2021, legislation passed to allow the discretion to extend the portability period for customers receiving DSP, if they are not able to return to Australia within 26 weeks due to unforeseen circumstances, such as hospitalisation or ill health. This extension allows the customer’s payment to continue for an agreed period, without being proportionalised according to their Working Life Residence (WLR). It also allows certain add-on payments to continue for the period of the extension. These add-on payments include:

• Incentive Allowance
• Pharmaceutical Allowance, and
• Rent Assistance

To determine if a DSP customer with indefinite portability may be assessed under the discretionary portability extension provisions, see Discretion to extend portability period. Portability extension assessments are only done by specialised officers in CIS.

An autonomous customer who departed Australia before 1 July 2004 and who was not assessed as severely disabled before departure remained eligible for payment for up to 26 weeks. DSP customers considered severely disabled before departure were entitled to payment outside Australia indefinitely.

Customers outside Australia on 1 July 2004:

• who were given a decision that their DSP was payable indefinitely will continue to be paid under the same rules as those granted on their pre 1 July 2004 departure as long as they do not return to Australia for residence. If they return to Australia and again become an Australian resident, they will be subject to the new rules if they leave Australia again
• did not have any special conditions if their DSP was only payable for a restricted period of 12 months or 26 weeks. Once they returned to Australia (or the agreement country) they became subject to the new rules on any subsequent departure from Australia

An autonomous customer considered terminally ill may be entitled to payment indefinitely if they are going to live in their country of origin or to be with or near a family member.

Refer these cases to Centrelink International Services (CIS).

For more information, see Disability Support Pension (DSP) overseas absence for terminally ill customers.

A customer intending to travel overseas for more than 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period (including leaving to live in another country) may be entitled to continue receiving DSP indefinitely if they satisfy the 'no future work capacity' portability provisions. To determine this, the customer must have a portability specific medical assessment, including a Job Capacity Assessment, before their departure from Australia. Note: A new medical report is generally still required even if the customer has an existing current and valid medical report, unless that report was specifically for portability purposes.

Make the customer aware that the result of the medical assessment may be that they no longer satisfy the medical qualifications for DSP. This would result in the cancellation of their DSP. For this reason, the customer may decline to have the medical assessment, in which case they will not be eligible for payment under these provisions.

Requests for assessment under the ‘no future work capacity’ provisions must be referred to CIS.

A person who is manifestly qualified for Disability Support Pension (DSP) generally qualifies automatically for indefinite portability under the No Work Capacity (NWC) provisions.

However, the manifest medical assessment is not a portability assessment.

A decision that the customer is eligible for indefinite portability must be made before the customer departs Australia. In order to make this decision, the customer must have contacted Services Australia before leaving Australia.

A manifest DSP customer:

• who has not been previously assessed for indefinite portability under NWC provisions, and
• did not contact Services Australia before the departure
• will only have access to general DSP portability and their payment will generally suspend after they have used 28 days in a rolling 12 month period

If the customer contacts after they have departed, and did not contact before departure, they cannot be retrospectively approved for indefinite portability for that departure.

Note: the unlimited portability decision for a manifest customer only needs to be made once. When the decision is made the first time, the coding will be done on the Customer Advised Travel Details (RSCD) screen and will apply to future departures.

Generally, customers qualified for DSP under an international agreement can be paid indefinitely while they are inside the agreement country.

The specific rules of the agreement determine the customer's rate. Under some agreements, they will continue to receive their inside Australia rate of DSP (whether this is proportional rate or direct deduction rate) for up to 26 weeks of a temporary absence from Australia. For other agreements, the proportional rate will be paid immediately on departure from Australia.

Refer these cases to Centrelink International Services (CIS).

Transfer to an international agreement while outside Australia

Customers receiving DSP under autonomous rules may have to transfer to an agreement (and from the date of transfer be paid a proportional rate) either:

• on departure (customers who have already used their 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period, former resident customers or customers ceasing to be an Australian resident), or
• when they have exceeded their portability period after departure (customers who remain an Australian resident but are outside Australia for more than the maximum portability period)

Generally, a customer must be considered severely disabled to qualify under an international agreement.

International agreement rules for travel to a third country

If a DSP customer is paid under an international agreement and they travel outside the agreement country, the agreement might impose its own portability rules or it may refer to autonomous portability rules.

If an agreement refers to autonomous rules, any DSP customer who is paid by virtue of that agreement and who leaves the agreement country to a third country will be subject to the same time limits as an autonomous DSP customer departing Australia.

This means that third country portability will generally be limited to 28 days in a rolling 12 month period, but also that third country portability may be granted if travelling for an approved reason.

When assessing the general portability period for a person currently paid under an agreement:

• days the customer was paid DSP under an agreement, whilst they were in the agreement country, are not counted in the 4 weeks
• days paid while outside Australia and outside the agreement country are counted in the 4 weeks
• if the customer was transferred to the agreement after leaving Australia, days paid DSP in the agreement country before being transferred to the agreement are counted in the 4 weeks

For more information, see Portability under agreements.

The portability and/or rate provisions of the New Zealand Agreement may affect customers receiving Age Pension, DSP or Carer Payment if they are:

• travelling to New Zealand
• receiving a defined New Zealand benefit, or
• paid their Australian payment under the agreement

Refer these cases to Centrelink International Services (CIS)

For more information, see New Zealand Agreement and foreign pension information.

If a customer ceases to be an Australian resident on departure but continues to remain entitled to DSP, or receives payment under the 20 September 2000 portability rules, the basic rate of pension and the Pension Supplement Basic Amount is paid. Transitional rate customers will receive the Transitional outside Australia pension rate from the date of departure. Any add-on payments received such as Rent Assistance (RA) cancel from the date of departure.

If a customer continues to remain an Australian resident for DSP on departure, the Pension Supplement, or the Transitional inside Australia pension rate, will be paid for up to 6 weeks from date of departure. Other add-on payments may continue, if qualified, for a limited period. If the customer is still receiving DSP after 6 weeks absence, they will receive the basic rate of pension and Pension Supplement Basic Amount or the Transitional outside Australia pension rate.

See Pension Supplement overseas absences.

If DSP is payable for more than 26 weeks under autonomous rules, payment will usually be made at a proportional rate based on their Australian Working Life Residence (WLR).

Payment will not be proportional if the customer's continuing inability to work (CITW) or permanent blindness occurred while they were an Australian resident.

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, they can have their payment restored if they return to Australia within 13 weeks of their payment stopping.

A reclaim is required if payment is cancelled. The claimant must meet current qualification requirements. If they are not qualified, they must test their eligibility for an alternative payment. For example, a person who is over Age Pension age cannot reclaim DSP and must claim Age Pension.

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.

The rules regarding portability of DSP are complex. DSP is portable indefinitely for some customers while for others it is not payable for any absence from Australia. There have been a number of significant changes to the rules on 1 July 2004, 1 January 2012, 1 July 2012, 1 January 2013 and 1 January 2015.

The Portability Script - Departures and Returns will correctly assess the customer's entitlement to payment while outside Australia and record details on the customer's record. If the customer advises in advance, the departure will still be recorded but the absence will not be assessed until the departure is verified through the Immigration Datalink.

Note: there is a known problem with coding when using the script for ‘no work capacity’ (NWC) approved cases where the screen has previously been keyed with ‘NWC’. The script tries to enter a new entry of ‘NWC’ when it is already recorded. This error does not prevent a user from using the script, but does result in a script error and staff need to delete the new entry of ‘NWC’ on RSCD in order for the script to progress.

Send a letter to the customer confirming the advice and providing contact details for Centrelink while outside Australia, if they request one. The option to send this letter is contained within the Portability Script.

A person's portability period starts on the day they leave Australia. For portability purposes, a customer is not considered to be inside Australia for any part of the day they departed Australia, regardless of the time of departure. If the customer is travelling outside Australia on a cruise, the date of departure is the date the ship leaves the last Australian port.

The day a customer returns to Australia is not included as part of their absence as they are considered to be inside Australia on that day (regardless of the time of return) and therefore no longer affected by portability. If they leave and return on the same day, for example airline crew, this is not considered a departure from Australia for portability purposes.