Coding departures and returns for customers leaving Australia 061-02010000
Expand allConsequential reviews - Information on departure and return consequential reviews
Table 1
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Item |
Description |
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1 |
Agreement Payment check Description: Cus has returned from O/S. Check increase or grant of foreign pension. Action required: Centrelink International Services (CIS) Service Officers must review the entitlements for customers paid under International Agreements. See Return to Australia procedures for Centrelink International Services (CIS) staff. |
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2 |
Code return to Aus Description: Script cannot code return; code it manually. If return is in the future, a FAL review must be set. Action required: Code the customer's return to Australia (AU) manually or set up a manual review where the return date is in the future. See:
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3 |
Participation requirements Review Description: Check Cus Participation/Jobseeker requirements. Action required: If the job seeker is granted payment for approved travel and an exemption applies, check and update where applicable so the exemption ends when the customer returns to AU. See Exempting a job seeker from their mutual obligation requirements when going overseas. |
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4 |
Respite Care or Carer/Caree Portability Review Description: Cus/Carer may be taking a respite break or Carer/Caree may be going o/s - review? Action required: A carer has a respite period of 63 days. Anything after that may result in loss of qualification/entitlement. Portability is not the only reason that contributes to the 63 days. If the care receiver is overseas but they are not with the carer, review the carer to check their qualification/entitlement. See:
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5 |
Return of outstanding SU19 forms Description: Does customer need to lodge a SU19 before they leave Australia? Failure to lodge may result in under/overpayment and/or difficulties restarting payments upon return to Australia. Action required: Customers required to report, must do so before departure so they get the correct payment up to the date of departure. |
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6 |
Review Apprentice/Trainee Status Description: Will cus still be an apprentice? Can they be paid if they aren't? Action required: Review the customer's apprentice/trainee circumstances and payment entitlements and take appropriate action. |
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7 |
Review Participation Agreement Description: Customer may not satisfy participation requirements. Refer to PA for review? Action required: If the customer has mutual obligation requirements, they may get a temporary exemption for the period they are payable overseas if it is for an approved reason. See: |
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8 |
Review Student Status Description: Will customer still be a student? Can they be paid if they aren't? Action Required: Review customer's student status and payment entitlements and take appropriate action. See: |
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9 |
Section 24 Review Description: A/n is treated as a single person even though they are partnered. Does partner live overseas? Is a/n joining their partner? How will this affect a/n's payments? See MS screen and DOCuments for details. Action Required: Conduct a Section 24 review. Assess the customer's circumstances to determine if they continue to meet the relevant criteria to be paid at the single rate. |
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10 |
SHC Reissue Description: Can SHC be reissued without need for new claim? Check if cancellation of SHC has been less than 13 weeks. Run SHC Grant/Reissue script if available. Action Required: If the customer's Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) cancels because of their overseas departure, complete a verbal re-claim if possible. See: |
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11 |
Transfer from I Environment? Description: Should record be transferred from the I environment? Action Required: If a customer’s payment goes to an overseas bank account, transfer the customers record to Environment I so the Payment Destination Overseas (PAPO) screen updates. When a customer returns from overseas, staff may need to transfer the customer’s record out of Environment I if payments are to go into an Australian bank account. See: |
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12 |
Vacation of Home Property Review Description: Customer owns their home in Australia. VHP review required? If customer is still overseas after 12 months, their home in Australia becomes an assessable asset. Action required: If a customer notifies of a departure to live in another country, assess the customers home ownership/assets. |
Travel details required
Table 2
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Item |
Description |
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1 |
Travel details The details required by Services Australia vary depending on the customer's payment type and personal circumstances. In every case, they must provide:
They may also have to provide:
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2 |
Changes to income and assets Changes to income or assets are common, as a customer may have withdrawn money from accounts or other investments to finance their trip. Any reduction in investments may entitle them to an increase in rate. |
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3 |
Continuing to pay rent It is important to find out if the customer is continuing to pay rent on their home address in Australia. If not, any Rent Assistance (RA) must stop from when they stop paying rent. Note: if they stop paying rent, it may indicate a change in the home address. If needed, update the address. The customer must continue to respond to any mail or the agency may stop their payment until they provide a new address. |
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4 |
Relationship status A change in relationship status can affect qualification for payments such as Parenting Payment Single, as well as payability for all payments because of the partner's income and assets. If the customer is leaving Australia to:
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5 |
Home property If an absence from Australia is for more than a few weeks, the customer may rent out their home. If they are a homeowner, their status will change:
Get details about the home property during the pre-departure interview for all absences greater than 12 months. When the home property becomes an asset, the value can preclude payment at the end of 12 months. This can have a significant impact. If the customer sells their home and the asset or deemed income precludes payment, there can be reviews for up to 12 months. If their income or assets decrease within this time, Services Australia can restore the customer’s payment. Ask them for the approximate asset value, any income received, any mortgage owed (this can affect the overall asset value). If they are renting the property, ask for the interest rate on any mortgage as the interest can be deducted from the income. Get full details after departure by issuing a Questionnaire regarding property overseas or inside Australia (XOB140) letter. |
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6 |
Comparable foreign payment (CFP) entitlement A customer going to certain countries may qualify for a CFP as a resident of that country whereas they did not while residing in Australia. A request to claim a CFP may issue automatically. A change in entitlement may occur if they travel or move to another country. For example, persons present in the United Kingdom (UK) become entitled to additional payments and increases to their UK pension. A UK Housing Income Support (XOB055) letter can be issued to the customer to return after they arrive overseas. Record a review to follow up the return of the letter but make sure they have plenty of time to get the information on their arrival overseas. |
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7 |
Nominee If the customer is leaving Australia to live in another country but their nominee is continuing to reside in Australia, follow up the nominee's continuing ability to remain responsible for the customer. This is particularly important if they are a payment nominee. |
Alternative travel date - examples
Table 3
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Example |
Description |
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1 |
Alternative date of departure from Australia Ted, a DSP customer, has 28 days of portability available. Ted books a trip to France. The flight details are:
When booking the flights, Ted makes sure that the absence from Australia will not be longer than 28 days, as Ted cannot afford to miss a day of payment. The day a person returns to Australia is not part of their absence as they are considered to be in Australia on that day. Ted passes through customs at 11:00 pm on 31 August. Centrelink gets this date through the Immigration Datalink which populates on the Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen. Based on this date, the system will calculate that Ted will have used up the allowable 28 days of portability on 27 September, meaning Ted will not receive payment for 28 September. When back in Australia, Ted contacts Centrelink International Services (CIS). They investigate the Department of Home Affairs Movement Reconstruction (MR) database, confirming the time Ted passed through customs. They search for details on the vessel and travel date using an online flight tracker, which shows the flight leaving Australia at 1:03 am on 1 September. It is reasonable that Ted would have passed through customs a few hours before the flight departing and the flight tracker supports this. There can be an update to Ted’s record to reflect the departure from Australia on 1 September, and arrears can be paid. |
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2 |
Alternative date of arrival in Australia Zina, a refugee, scheduled to arrive in Australia at 10:45 pm on 29 March, intends to claim JobSeeker Payment (JSP) once settled in Australia. A third party contacted Services Australia on 29 March to record Zina’s intent to claim. There is a delay in the arrival of Zina’s flight, and it lands in Australia at 11:30 pm on 29 March. After some time waiting in the queue, Zina passes through customs at 12:15 am on 30 March. Centrelink gets the date of arrival of 30 March (the date Zina passed through customs) through the Immigration Datalink which populates on the Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen. Based on this date, the agency cannot use the contact on 29 March as the deemed date of claim, as a person cannot qualify for JSP on a day they were not in Australia. A Service Officer from the Refugee Servicing team contacts Centrelink International Services (CIS). They investigate the Department of Home Affairs Movement Reconstruction (MR) database and confirm the time Zina was passing through customs. As it is reasonable that Zina would have been present in Australia some time before clearing immigration and passing through customs, there can be an update to the record to reflect that Zina arrived in Australia on 29 March. If Zina meets all JSP qualification criteria on that date and lodges a valid claim within the period required for backdating, the contact on 29 March can be the deemed date of the JSP claim. |