Leaving Australia and portability of payments 061-01000000

When a customer is planning to leave Australia to travel to or live in another country, they should check how this might affect their:

• payments
• health care and
• child support arrangements

Customers can check their circumstances and plans against the Services Australia website. They can then decide whether to notify the agency of their plans to travel. If a customer advises they are planning to travel, staff must always use the Portability Script - Departures and Returns to correctly code the absence from Australia. If the script is not available due to technical issues, see Contents below for links to payment specific and concession card portability procedures.

The portability period represents how long a person's payment can continue outside Australia and depends on the type of payment. Customers must remain qualified for payment during their absence and, for some payments, the customer must continue to meet activity requirements

The portability period starts on the day the customer leaves Australia. For portability purposes, a person is not considered to be in 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 person returns to Australia is not included as part of their absence as they are considered to be in 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.

The maximum portability period is the maximum period payment can continue for a customer who leaves Australia.

Factors affecting the maximum period

There are various factors that affect the maximum period, these include:

• the type of visa the customer holds (for example, a partner provisional visa limits the maximum period)
• if the customer is attending an Australian Defence Force Reserves service training camp
• discretionary extension provisions
• International social security agreements
• if the absence is temporary (e.g. holiday) or if the customer is leaving to live overseas
• savings provisions
• if payment was granted to the customer as a former Australian resident
• return rules for certain payments
• respite rules for carers

See Resources for a guide to maximum portability periods.

The Department of Home Affairs will generally advise Services Australia when a Centrelink customer or child leaves or returns to Australia. Portability of the payment is automatically assessed by the system, regardless of whether the customer notified us before leaving Australia. Note: Department of Home Affairs datalink activities should not be cancelled.

Services Australia uses the date of departure or arrival provided by the Department of Home Affairs. If adversely affected, the customer can provide evidence of alternative dates. The agency should consider applying the alternative dates, if it is reasonable and results in a beneficial outcome for the customer.

In many cases, customers do not need to advise the agency they are leaving Australia temporarily or have returned from a temporary absence. However, there are situations when customers should advise of a departure before leaving Australia or contact when they have returned to Australia.

In most cases, customers can notify of their departure from Australia via the online Travelling outside of Australia service within their Centrelink online account. If a customer's circumstances are more complex they will be prompted to contact the agency.

To continue to access their myGov account while they are overseas, customers who have elected to receive myGov security codes by SMS will need to ensure that they can still receive SMS to their Australian mobile phone number outside Australia.

Otherwise they will need to change their Sign-in options to myGov Code Generator app codes, or secret question prior to travelling overseas. To change myGov Sign-in options, customers need to sign in to their myGov account and select Account settings.

The website lists situations when customers must advise they are leaving or returning to Australia. The Resources page has a link.

Customers leaving Australia are still required to notify any other changes to their circumstances that would normally affect their payment or concession card.

Depending on the event, customers may be able to notify the change online. Refer to the Change of circumstances procedure for the relevant payment or concession card type.

Due to the complexity of portability rules, the Portability Script - Departures and Returns must be used whenever a customer contacts about leaving Australia even when customers do not need to advise the agency.

The Portability Script - Departures and Returns assists the Service Officer to collect relevant information from the customer during an interview. It should be used to help assess the customer's entitlement to payment while outside Australia. The script will correctly code the absence from Australia onto a customer's record, and issue a letter if requested by the customer providing information about the possible effect on their entitlement while outside Australia.

If the Portability Script - Departures and Returns is unavailable there are a number of procedures which can assist a Service Officer to determine if payments are portable during an overseas absence and for how long. See Contents below.

In most cases a customer who returns from a short trip overseas, and their payment remains current, does not need to notify that they have returned to Australia.

When they return, contact is required if:

• a payment or concession card was stopped while they were away and was not automatically restored when they returned to Australia
• they are returning to live in Australia after living overseas
• they are receiving their payment under an international social security agreement, or
• they have been asked to provide evidence for their reason for travel or other documents

If the customer or child has an active Department of Home Affairs datalink their return date should automatically update when they return to Australia. If it does not update automatically, then it will need to be recorded manually. Department of Home Affairs datalink activities should not be cancelled.

If the departure was not recorded, then the Portability Script - Departures and Returns must be run, and the departure coding completed, before the return to Australia can be recorded and assessed.

If a customer or child 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, their payment can be automatically or manually restored if they return to Australia within 13 weeks of their payment stopping.

Most payments can be paid to a customer or for a child who is temporarily overseas; that is, most payments are 'portable', at least in some circumstances.

The rules are complicated about:

• a payment's portability
• how long a payment will be paid, and
• what rate will be paid

Some payments are portable indefinitely; and are paid for as long as the customer is overseas. This is the case even if the customer has chosen to leave Australia to live in another country.

The rate of these payments may change after the customer has been overseas for a while.

Many payments are portable for a limited time. The rate of these payments will not usually change. They cannot be paid at all if the customer has chosen to leave Australia to live in another country.

Families-related payments are generally affected if the customer's child leaves Australia, even if the customer stays in Australia. These payments are portable for a limited time. The rate of these payments will not usually change. They cannot be paid at all if the child has left Australia to live in another country.

Some payments are only portable if the customer leaves Australia for a particular reason. For example to attend the funeral of a parent. Specialist Centrelink International Services staff will talk to the customer about their circumstances. Portability for these payments will only be approved for a limited period. The rate of these payments will not usually change.

Concession cards are usually portable for a limited time. The card will be cancelled if the customer has chosen to leave Australia to live in another country. However, while temporarily overseas, customers may be able to gain benefit by presenting their Australian concession card. The overseas agency decides which benefit they can receive.

If the customer goes to an agreement country and meets the transfer requirements, they may be able to transfer to an international social security agreement. They can then continue to receive payment. This is relevant to customers with payments:

• that are not portable for any of their absence outside Australia or
• after the maximum portability period has been reached

Loans under the Home Equity Access Scheme (the HEAS) are not social security payments. They are not subject to portability rules or proportional portability. Payments under the HEAS can be paid overseas as long as the customer meets and maintains eligibility for the HEAS.

It is possible for a customer to receive:

• a pension or allowance, and
• the HEAS loan payments

The pension or allowance is subject to the normal rules of portability and proportional portability of the pension or allowance they receive.

If the rate of payment is reduced due to proportional portability, the HEAS loan payments continue to be paid while the customer is outside Australia. This is the case even if the primary payment suspends or cancels due to the proportional rate being nil.

The fortnightly loan rate automatically increases to compensate for the reduced rate of payment. This is the case unless the customer has chosen to receive a fixed loan amount each fortnight.

All payments continue to be affected by the rules and conditions that apply inside Australia. For example, if an Age Pension customer (who has been indefinitely portable at maximum rate) has a big lotto win their pension may be reduced or cancelled by the means test.

Once portability is established, payments may be made while the customer is outside Australia:

• into an Australian bank account, or
• into an overseas bank account (for some countries)

The method of delivery may vary depending on the length of the absence, whether the departure is temporary, the country to which they are travelling, and the type of payment the person is receiving.