Residence assessment for customers claiming Mobility Allowance (MOB) 008-05030010

A customer has lodged a claim for Mobility Allowance (MOB). To qualify for MOB as an Australian resident the customer must meet all of the following:

• be an Australian resident
• generally be in Australia at the time the claim is lodged
• remain an Australian resident throughout the period of payment, and
• satisfy a 2 year (104 week) or 4 year (208 week) Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP) or alternatively they may have an exemption from the NARWP in certain circumstances

The length of the NARWP changed from 1 January 2019 and is determined by the visa subclass and grant date of the customer's first permanent residence visa:

• The customer will have a 2 year (104 week) NARWP if:
• their first permanent residence visa was granted before 1 January 2019, or
• they hold or have held a visa subclass 115, 117, 835 or 837
• Otherwise, the customer is required to serve a 4 year (208 week) NARWP

Note: there are exceptions to these requirements.

The new claim workflow will present the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME) screen. Make sure the customer's country of birth and any travel documents are recorded. The system will automatically link to the Department of Home Affairs information and update the customer's residence and movement information. For more information, see Activating the Department of Home Affairs datalink and contingency procedures if datalink is unavailable.

Check the Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen if necessary to check if the customer was in Australia at the time the claim was lodged.

Check the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen for citizenship and/or visa details for the customer.

If the customer is:

• in Australia as:
• an Australian resident, go to Step 1 in Table 2
• a non-resident, go to Step 4
• not in Australia, go to Step 3

The customer can only lodge a legal claim for MOB while they are outside Australia if they meet an exception to the lodgement inside Australia rule.

Does the customer meet an exception to the lodgement inside Australia rule?

• Yes, and they are:
• an Australian resident, see Step 1 in Table 2
• not an Australian resident, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 4

Advise customer to lodge a claim if they return to Australia in the future.

Continue to assess the claim. The claim will reject for a residence related reason.

Procedure ends here.

Only New Zealand citizens can be the holder of an SCV. The RSLEG screen in Customer First/Record or the RSLEG task in Process Direct will indicate whether someone is a protected (GRF or TRA) or non-protected (NOT) SCV holder.

For more information on SCVs, see Australian Residence Rules for New Zealand citizens.

Is the customer a non-protected SCV holder?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 7

Continue to assess the claim. The claim will reject for a residence related reason.

A non-protected SCV holder must obtain permanent residence status before they have entitlement to most payments and concessions.

If a non-protected SCV holder is granted:

• Australian citizenship, they will have an exemption from the NARWP from the date the Australian citizenship is granted
• a permanent residence visa, any periods of presence as an Australian resident can be counted towards the NARWP. Periods of presence as an Australian resident prior to 26 February 2001 are counted towards the NARWP if the customer now has a permanent visa. An exemption from the NARWP cannot apply to these customers until they obtain a permanent residence visa

Exception: the NARWP for a Low Income Health Care Card (LIC) and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) can be served by claimants who arrived in Australia on a New Zealand passport. To qualify for an ex-Carer Allowance Health Care Card (ECH) and serve the NARWP, an SCV must be protected.

The following payments and services can be received by a non-protected SCV holder and may be offered to the customer if appropriate:

• Parental leave payment, family assistance and concession cards (excluding ECH)
• Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if the customer has any dependent children
• Assistance to look for work. To check a customer's entitlement, see Employment services for visa holders
• One-off payment of either JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) for a non-protected SCV holder under the New Zealand 10 year residence exemption Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP) in limited circumstances and Carer Payment (CP) for the partner of a DSP recipient using the International Agreement with New Zealand

Procedure ends here.

• Code the correct citizenship and the correct visa subclass on the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen
• Code the customer's country of residence on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen
• Continue to assess the claim. The claim will reject for a residence related reason

The customer may be entitled to some of the following. Offer to the customer if appropriate:

• Special Benefit (SpB), even though they may not be an Australian resident SpB may be payable to a person with certain temporary visas that qualify customers for some payments
• Family assistance and parental leave payments or the Low Income Health Care Card (LIC) if the customers has a certain temporary visas that qualify customers for some payments
• Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if they meet an exception to the normal residence requirements for CCS (for example for certain foreign students or customers in hardship)
• Assistance to look for work. To check a customer's entitlement, see Employment services for visa holders
• Payments using an International Agreement. Generally agreements only cover Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP) in limited circumstances and Carer Payment (CP)

Procedure ends here.

Check the Periods of Australian Presence (RSPAP) screen. This screen displays the periods the customer has been physically in Australia while an Australian resident.

Has the customer been an Australian resident in Australia for at least 2 years (104 weeks) or 4 years (208 weeks)?

If the customer was granted their first permanent residence visa:

• before 1 January 2019, or they hold or have held a visa subclass 115, 117, 835 or 837, they are required to serve a 2 year (104 week) NARWP
• on or after 1 January 2019, they are required to serve a 4 year (208 week) NARWP
• Yes, they have served the NARWP and meet the residence requirements for MOB. Continue to assess their claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone Centrelink International Services. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

An automatic exemption from the NARWP applies to a customer who is an Australian citizen. Citizenship must be verified. To determine if the customer is an Australian citizen, go to proof of Australian citizenship.

Is the customer an Australian citizen?

• Yes, the customer is exempt from the NARWP and they meet the residence requirements for MOB
• Check the details are recorded correctly on the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen
• Continue to assess the claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) contact the relevant phone Centrelink International Services
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

An automatic exemption from the NARWP applies to a customer who is a refugee or former refugee.

To determine if the customer is a refugee or former refugee, go the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen

If the customer's visa subclass (either now or previously) was a refugee visa, it should have been automatically recorded on this screen from the immigration datalink. Refugee visa can be determined using:

• Chapter 9 of the Guide to Social Security Law, or
• Refugee and special humanitarian visa sub-class

If the customer advises they were or currently are a refugee by providing their passport or this is not recorded on the RSLEG screen, contact Centrelink International Service (CIS) or refer to CIS via the Immigration Match Questionnaire (IMQ).

Is the customer a refugee or former refugee?

• Yes, they are not subject to a NARWP and meet the residence requirements for MOB
• Check the visa details are recorded correctly on the RSLEG screen
• Continue to assess their claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone Centrelink International Services
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

Is the customer the holder of a visa subclass 852?

This information can generally be found in the customer's passport or on the RSLEG screen once the immigration datalink has been successful.

• Yes, they are not subject to a NARWP and meet the residence requirements for MOB
• Check the visa details are recorded correctly on the RSLEG screen
• Continue to assess their claim
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 5

For the purpose of the NARWP and Qualifying Residence exemptions, family members include the following:

• A partner of the person
• A dependent child of the person
• Another person who, in the opinion of the Secretary, should be treated for the purposes of this definition as a partner or dependent child of the person

Was the customer a family member of a refugee or former refugee at the time that the refugee or former refugee arrived in Australia?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 8

Note: the customer must have been the family member of that person at the time the refugee first arrived in Australia. However, if the family member is now an Australian citizen, they are no longer considered to be a refugee (they are a former refugee) and the customer can be covered by this exemption provision.

Is the customer currently the family member of a refugee or former refugee?

• Yes, they are exempt from the NARWP
• Once the claim is fully assessed, refer case to CIS for exemption coding
• Once response has been returned from CIS, continue to assess their claim. If the claim rejects, NIA (Not in Australia) phone Centrelink International Services
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 7

Was the customer the family member of a refugee or former refugee when the refugee or former refugee died?

Note: the customer must have been the family member of that person at the time the refugee first arrived in Australia.

• Yes, they are exempt from the NARWP
• Once the claim is fully assessed, refer case to CIS for exemption coding
• Once response has been returned from CIS, continue to assess the claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone Centrelink International Services
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 8

Did the event which resulted in their eligibility for MOB occur while the customer was in Australia?

• Yes, customer is not subject to a NARWP and meets the residence requirements for MOB
• Enter 'BHA' in the Migrant Exemption Reason: field on the Mobility Misc. Circumstance (MOCD) screen. Note: this field can only be coded when the customer is recorded as a single principal carer
• Record the reason for the exemption in a DOC
• Continue to assess the claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone Centrelink International Services
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 9

The end date of the NARWP (assuming they remain in Australia) is calculated and displayed on the Periods of Australian Presence (RSPAP) screen. This can be used to advise the customer of future entitlement.

Note: if the system calculates that the NARWP has not yet been served and the customer was an Australian resident prior to 1 September 1994, past periods of residence should be recorded on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen.

If they have not yet served the NARWP, the claim will either:

• Reject NW2 (Residency less than 104 weeks)
• Reject NWA (NARWP assessment not met), or
• Grant with a status of assessed but will not be payable until the end of the NARWP. This may mean that the customer will have an assessed claim for up to 13 weeks

If the claim is granting with a start date more than 13 weeks in the future, manually reject the claim reason 'NRQ' on the Benefit Action (BA) screen. An automatic letter will be issued.

If the claim is incorrectly granting when the customer has not served or is not exempt from the NARWP, check the Family Member/Refugee Code on the Residence Savings (RSS) screen. If FMC, FME or PRE is coded, refer case to CIS for exemption coding to be ended.

The customer may be entitled to some of the following. Offer to the customer if appropriate:

• If the customer has an FTB child in their care, they may be entitled to a Low Income Health Care Card (LIC)
• Assistance to look for work. To check a customer's entitlement, see Employment services for visa holders
• Payments using an international agreement. Generally, these only cover Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP) and Carer Payment (CP) in limited circumstances.
• Special Benefit (SpB) if the customer is in hardship and has suffered an unexpected and significant change in circumstances since being in Australia as the holder of an SpB qualifying visa. SpB may also be payable to a person with certain temporary visas that qualify customers for some payments even though they may not be an Australian resident. Consider issuing a claim in these circumstances.