Pharmaceutical Allowance (PhA) overseas absences 061-01070030

This document outlines how to determine whether PhA is payable to a customer while they are outside Australia and for how long. It also explains the actions to be taken by the Service Officer and the customer on their departure.

Temporary absence

PhA is portable for up to 26 weeks for a temporary absence if the main payment is portable indefinitely (for example, Age Pension).

If the main payment has limited portability, then payment is portable until the main payment’s portability ends.

Even where PhA is portable, the customer must remain eligible to receive their income support payment to continue receiving PhA. If the customer is still overseas when their main payment ceases, entitlement to PhA will also cease. For example, payments such as Parenting Payment Single are only payable for 6 weeks from departure and therefore the PhA will cease after 6 weeks absence from Australia.

If the customer is payable because of discretionary extension provisions, PhA can continue for as long as the extension applies.

PhA is not portable if the customer is paid under the 1 July 2004 portability provisions or the pre 20 September 2000 portability rules.

Leaving to live in another country

PhA is not payable to people who are not Australian residents.

If a customer leaves Australia to live in another country PhA is cancelled from the date the customer leaves Australia.

A customer who has stopped living in Australia will not be able to claim PhA during any temporary returns to Australia.

International agreement and portability

If a customer is paid under the terms of an international agreement, PhA portability is determined according to the rules of the relevant international agreement.

Portability Interview

PhA portability is correctly assessed when the Portability Script - Departures and Returns is used.

If the script is available, coding the absence from Australia should be done using the script.

Notification of intended departure and return

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 contains a link to the Services Australia website which lists situations when customers must advise they are leaving Australia.