For Centrelink International Services (CIS) staff.
This document outlines how Age Pension and Disability Support Pension (DSP) payments are administered by Centrelink International Services (CIS), when customers are overseas and payable long term.
On this page:
Actions to take before transferring a customer record
Actions to take once customer record transferred
Specific issues for Age Pension
Specific issues for DSP and finalise coding
Actioning long term overseas entitlement reviews
Actions to take before transferring a customer record
Table 1
Expand tableStep | Action |
1 | Transferring a customer record to CIS
The procedure is to be used by Service Officers in CIS to manually transfer the customer's record and code the portability decision after the Portability script has been run. The script does not transfer the record between environments. Before using this procedure, the Service Officer must make sure: - the portability decision has already been made based on the information provided by the customer
- it has been confirmed that the customer is going overseas and is payable for more than 12 months, and
- based on the customer's circumstances, it is appropriate to transfer the record to Environment I. See Table 1 > Step 5 (and 6, if applicable) in Delivery of payments to Centrelink customers outside Australia
Note: the process is different for customers paid under, or transferring to, an International Social Security Agreement. See Portability of payments paid under International Agreements. |
2 | Check the final payment has been made before departure
If further payments are due and yet to be paid to the customer, do not start transfer action until the payments have been made. Are further payments due before departure? - Yes, put the portability activity on hold (not hold to user) for the day after the delivery date of the final payment. Procedure ends here. Note: if the customer requests final payment(s) be issued into their overseas account, go to Step 3
- No, go to Step 3
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3 | Check if the customer has been paid any add-ons, income supplement or Family Tax Benefit
Consider the following: - Add-ons and income supplements are not payable for absences where the customer is leaving to live in another country
- Add-ons are not payable to customers saved under the pre 20 September portability rules
- Add-ons are not payable to customers paid under an international agreement in most situations
- If the customer remains qualified for their main payment, Rent Assistance (RA) is payable for the first 26 weeks of a temporary absence, provided they continue to pay rent in Australia. If they stop paying rent, the Accommodation (AC) screen must be updated and RA cancelled
- The full Pension Supplement is payable for the first 6 weeks of a temporary absence. If the customer is still overseas after 6 weeks, only the basic amount of the Pension Supplement is payable. For absences where customer is leaving to live in another country the basic amount of the Pension Supplement is payable if the customer remains qualified for the main payment. Note: Remote Area Allowance (RAA) is only payable for 8 weeks from the date of temporary departure from the remote area. For more information regarding add-ons see Portability of add-ons
- For family payments, see Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Parental Leave Pay (PPL) customer/child going overseas. These entitlements cannot be paid into an overseas bank account
- If a customer receives Mobility Allowance (MOB), the customer's record must be left in their home environment until MOB is cancelled
- To avoid cancellation of concession card prior to customer’s overseas departure, their payment must remain current in the home environment
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4 | Payment preference of customer
The customer's preferred method of payment should be noted in the portability interview DOC. If not, contact the customer to confirm which method of payment is preferred. The possible payment methods are: - direct deposit into an Australian bank account every 4 weeks (available to customers in all countries)
- direct deposit to an overseas bank account every 4 weeks (available in certain countries only)
The payment method available depends on where they live or where they are going to. |
5 | Cancel the record in home environment
Note: if the customer is still in Australia and their record is cancelled 'DOS’ their concession card will also cancel. To make sure a customer can continue to use their concession card before departure, their record must remain: - in the home environment, and
- current or suspended for reason ‘DOS’ until they depart Australia
To cancel the record in the home environment: - go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen in the losing environment and cancel payment by coding:
- Svc Rsn: field: the applicable payment type code that is, AGE or DSP
- Action: field: CAN
- Reason: field: DOS (departed overseas)
- Effect Date: field: date after the Paid To date (check the PS screen for the date Paid To). For example, if paid to 22 May, the Effect Date must be 23 May. Note: if an incorrect date is used, and a part payment is generated, the record will not be able to be transferred until the payment has been made
- Source: and DOR: fields
- if an Age Pension customer has a carer who gets Carer Payment and one or both are leaving to live in another country, the CRES screen must be updated first before payment is CAN-DOS
- finalise details on the Assessment Results (AR) screen and inhibit the advice
- check the benefit status through the Benefit Status (XBS) screen to see if the record has been cancelled
- finalise any documents and activities already started, except FTB and overpayments
- in Process Direct, go to the Inter-environment transfer details (ICOA) screen, press the Request transfer button
- from the drop down options, select:
- Gaining environment: I – International
- Customer’s new office code and gaining region: WTW-INTLSMART.IOS
- press Transfer
- wait for the record to transfer. When the transfer is successful the:
- Status on the ICOA screen in Process Direct will be Completed
- Transfer Status on the ICOA Log Information (ITLG) screen in Customer First will be COM
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Actions to take once customer record transferred
Table 2
Expand tableStep | Action |
1 | When record has been transferred into Environment I
View the Nominee Link Summary (NOLS) screen. If a nominee arrangement is in place check that the arrangement is still suitable while they are outside Australia. Cease the nominee appointment where the arrangement is no longer suitable. Use the Payment Destination Update - Record Overseas Direct Deposit Details script to code payment to an Australian or overseas bank account. Note: If coding an overseas bank account see Overseas Bank Account Details (OBAD) for country specific coding requirements, for example; U.S. has specific coding requirements for ‘HOM’ (home address). - Record the change of address on Address Details (AD) screen if the customer has provided new address details
Note: it is not mandatory for the customer to provide an address outside Australia if they have a valid postal address in Australia, but generally it is appropriate if the customer is leaving for more than 12 months - Code overseas telephone number if available on the Telephone Details (TD) screen
- Record any change in accommodation. For example, the customer has sold their home or has ceased paying rent. If the customer has sold or vacated their home, ensure a Vacation of home review is created by coding the Accommodation (AC) screen with:
- Reason Home Vacated: Absent Overseas (OVE)
- Date vacated: the date the customer left/is leaving Australia
- If the customer is receiving Rent Assistance (RA), check rent information on AC is still correct. Update rent information if the customer has ceased paying rent. Cease any payment deductions being made for the customer (for example, to a State Government Housing authority)
- Ensure the overseas departure details are recorded on the relevant screens as required, including: Customer Advised Travel Details (RSCD), Country of Residence (CRES) and Additional Residence Details (ARD)
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2 | Payment specific issues
Where the customer is in receipt of: |
Specific issues for Age Pension
Table 3
Expand tableSpecific issues for DSP and finalise coding
Table 4
Expand tableStep | Action |
1 | Check disability information
For further information see: It may have already been determined that customer is payable indefinitely under the: Check the Pension Disability Information (PDI) screen for Severely Disabled coding. If the customer is severely disabled or terminally ill, YES will be coded in the Severely Disabled Code: field. Note: if the customer is saved under the pre 1 July 2004 portability rules and granted before 12 November 1991 the customer does not have to be severely disabled, and this field will be coded with UNK. Is the PDI screen coded with YES or UNK (And, when UNK, the customer is also saved under the pre 1 July 2004 portability rules)? |
2 | Check for manifest DSP eligibility
Check the Manifest Code: field on the Medical Conditions Details (MC) screen for a manifest medical condition: - TRM
- BLI
- INT
- NHM
- HV4
- DVA/TPI (Disability Compensation Payment at Special Rate (Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI))
Note: if the Manifest Code: field has either of the discontinued manifest codes MNF or APP, a No Work Capacity (NWC) assessment is required to determine if the customer has a current manifest medical condition. Is the MC screen coded with a current manifest code? |
3 | Customer is manifestly eligible for DSP
A decision that the customer is eligible for indefinite portability must be made before the customer departs Australia. 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. A NWC portability assessment is considered to have occurred (and the customer is eligible for indefinite portability) if either of the following happens before departure: - the Portability Script is run, or
- the customer advises of the departure (normally done online through the Travel Outside Australia Online Service)
If a customer only contacts the agency after they have departed Australia (including when they have returned to Australia), they: - are not eligible for indefinite portability for that departure
- need to contact before their next departure in order for staff to assess them for indefinite portability
Note: the NWC decision only has to be made once. Once the decision has been made, it applies to all future departures. Is ‘NWC’ coded on the RSCD screen and was this coded before this departure or it has been coded since departure because the customer contacted before departure? |
4 | Check where continuing inability to work/blindness occurred
If CITW/Blind Residence: field is coded with: - ‘AUS’ the inability to work or blindness occurred when the customer was an Australian resident, the payment will not be proportional. Advise the customer of this. Go to Step 7
- ‘OVE’ the inability to work occurred when the customer was not an Australian resident, the payment will be proportional. Advise the customer of this. Go to Step 6
- ‘NOT’ if the residence of the customer when the inability to work occurred has not yet been assessed. Go to Step 5.
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5 | Does the customer wish to discuss undergoing the no work capacity (NWC) assessment?
To receive indefinite portability under the NWC provisions, a customer must have ‘No future work capacity'. The NWC assessment will usually require completion of a medical review, which will include a medical report by the customer's treating doctor and a Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) that must be conducted before the customer departs Australia. Customers who want to test their eligibility under the ‘No future work capacity' portability provisions, must be referred to CIS. Does the customer wish to discuss undergoing an NWC assessment? |
6 | DSP customers paid a proportional rate
Update the ARD screen: - Record the date of departure as date of event
- Update the Australian working life residence if required. Note: under the 1 July 2004 portability rules, the customer may be able to use their partner’s or deceased partner’s Australian Working Life Residence (AWLR). See Working Life Residence (WLR) for more information
If customer is leaving Australia to live overseas, record new residence details on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen. See Deciding if a customer is residing in Australia. |
7 | Complete procedure and restore payment
- Check the Accommodation (AC) screen. If the customer owns their home in Australia, issue an XOB140 letter regarding property overseas or inside Australia to gather information required regarding possible sale or rental of the property, and create a review for return of the XOB140:
- Service Reason: payment type
- Review Reason: FOR (Return of Form/Correspondence)
- Due Date: 35 days from date of action
- Source: INT
- Date of Receipt: today
- Notes: Customer is overseas. XOB140 letter sent [today’s date] requesting details of their home in Australia and any properties outside Australia. Check for return of the form and undertake VHP review, if applicable
- Keywords: XOB140
- Workgroup: leave blank
- Position: leave blank
- Transfer to Region: leave blank
- Check other income and assets and make sure any changes have been followed up. For example, if the customer has an overseas property coded on the Foreign Income/Asset Detail (FID) screen, check if they will be living in that property overseas and update as applicable
- Go to the BA screen and complete the following fields:
- Svc Rsn field: key appropriate payment type. For example, AGE or DSP
- Action field: Key RES
- Reason and Effect Date fields: leave blank. The system will automatically restore from the cancellation date
- Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen
- Check Payment Summary (PS) screen. Staff must:
- make sure the amount of arrears and destination are correct before finalising the activity. There is no way to alter the destination once the activity is finalised
- inhibit arrears less than AUD50.00 and release with the next regular 4-weekly payment. This will avoid rejection of amounts below the minimum banking limit of USD25.00
- Check that all corrective action is complete, then finalise the activity on the AR screen. Inhibit the advice if desired
- If the customer is leaving Australia to live overseas:
- Record new residence details on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen
- send an Information for Pensioners living outside Australia (XOB075) letter. Include an AUS178 country specific bank form to enable payment to an overseas bank account
- Record details in a DOC. Note: if income or assets have been updated or any other changes have been made to pension details this will also need to be recorded in a separate DOC
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Actioning long term overseas entitlement reviews
Table 5
Expand tableStep | Action |
1 | A CIS Service Officer has been allocated a ‘CIS to assess long term overseas entitlement’ review
The objectives of this review are to: - make sure the customer is on the correct portability rate, and
- review the record holistically, particularly country of location, the country the customer resides in and contact details.
Check the Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen to see if the customer is still outside of Australia. Note: if the customer has not returned to Australia, refresh the Immigration Datalink on the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME) screen to make sure the most current information is on the record. Is the customer still outside Australia? |
2 | Check for previously requested information
The agency may have already sent the customer a questionnaire that requests details of their overseas travel. Check Document Tools for a returned XOBS32 questionnaire. Is there a returned questionnaire? |
3 | Check country of residence
Check the Country of Residence (CRES) screen to see which country the customer is recorded as currently residing in. Is the customer recorded as currently residing in Australia? |
4 | Check if new 'residing in Australia' decision needs to be made
The customer has been overseas for an extended period, therefore the Service Officer may need to review where the customer resides. See Deciding if a customer is residing in Australia. Some circumstances may indicate the customer’s country of residence should be reviewed, such as: - the customer did not advise of their departure and information on their record indicates they have strong ties overseas (for example, frequent long periods of travel overseas and they own overseas property and assets)
- they advised in their portability interview that they were going overseas for a short period of time (for example, 3 months) but they are still there 12 months later
Examine the existing information available on the customer’s record. Check for: - any previous DOCs related to the departure, which may advise of intentions overseas
- overseas ties, such as frequent travel, overseas income and assets, partner residing overseas
- response to recent request for residing in Australia information
If: - the Service Officer is satisfied the customer still resides in Australia, leave the CRES screen coding as it is
- the Service Officer determines that the customer now resides overseas, update the CRES screen. Use the appropriate date – previous residing in Australia decisions should not be changed retrospectively unless the customer misrepresented their circumstances. If making a new decision that the customer now resides overseas, it should generally be coded on the CRES screen from the date the Service Officer makes the decision.
- there is strong indication that the customer may now reside overseas, but the Service Officer needs more information before making a decision, contact the customer to obtain more information. See Deciding if a customer is residing in Australia. Once the decision is made, update the CRES screen, if applicable, and continue with this process
Go to Step 5. |
5 | Check accommodation and country of location coding
Check the Accommodation (AC) screen. If not already coded, code: - Reason Home Vacated: with ‘Absent Overseas’ (OVE)
- Date vacated: the date the customer left Australia
Check the Customer Advised Travel Details (RSCD) screen. If the country the customer is currently located in is: - known, code the country (if not already done)
- unknown, do not make updates to the RSCD screen
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6 | Check the customer’s rate of payment
Check the customer’s record to determine if they are currently receiving the correct rate of payment. This includes checking the: - Australian Working Life Residence (AWLR) screen
- Additional Residence Details (ARD) screen
Make sure the Australian Working Life figures match for customers paid according to their own AWLR. Staff must correct the figure so that the customer is receiving the correct proportional rate if the: - figure on the ARD screen does not match the figure on the AWLR screen, and
- customer cannot use their partner or late partner’s WLR
If the customer has less than the maximum amount of AWLR, check the Pensions Rate Calculation (PRC) screen to ensure that the payment is being proportionalised. Correct any issues identified, if possible. Is the customer’s rate of payment correct? |
7 | Request additional information from the customer
Staff must send an XOBS32 questionnaire letter to the customer. It must outline the information that the customer must provide to ensure they are on the correct rate. The letter must ask if they still live in Australia, or are they living overseas long-term? If the customer is: - still living in Australia, then:
- which country/countries are they travelling in, and
- what date do they expect to return to Australia
- living overseas, then:
- which country are they living in, and
- what is their overseas address and phone number
Note: staff must send the letter to the current postal address on the ADS screen. If the customer has not already provided an overseas address, the letter will be sent to their address in Australia. If they have provided an overseas address, the letter should be sent to that address. DOC the record with the action taken. Place the Manual Follow Up (MFU) on hold for 42 days for return of the questionnaire. When the MFU is due it will be allocated to the next available officer for actioning. Procedure ends here. |
8 | Finalise review and check for Vacation of Home Property (VHP) review
Select the MFU and go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Finalise the activity. Check the record for a: - VHP review on the Activity List (AL) screen that has come due, or
- VHP review on the Future Activity List (FAL) screen that has not yet come due
Does a VHP review exist on the record? - Yes, and the staff member is:
- skilled to action VHP activities, action the review. See Vacation of home reviews. Procedure ends here
- not skilled to action VHP reviews, procedure ends here
- No, check DOCs on the record. If there is:
- a DOC stating VHP has been/is being investigated, procedure ends here
- no indication that VHP has been/is being investigated, go to Step 9
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9 | Create VHP review
Create a review on the: - Review Registration (RVR) screen, or
- Activity Registration (AYR) screen
Code the following: - Service Reason: payment type
- Review Reason: FOR (Return of Form/Correspondence)
- Due Date: 35 days from date of action
- Source: INT
- Date of Receipt: today
- Notes: Customer is overseas. Their home in Australia was exempt from the asset test for 12 months, however as they have now been overseas for longer than 12 months it is now an assessable asset. XOB140 letter sent [today’s date] requesting details of home in Australia and any properties outside Australia. Check for return of the form and undertake VHP review
- Keywords: XOB140
- Workgroup: leave blank
- Position: leave blank
- Transfer to Region: leave blank
Send an XOB140 Vacation of home review for former home letter to the customer to get details of the home. When the review comes due and/or the customer returns the form, it will allocate to a suitably skilled officer to action. DOC the record with the action taken. Procedure ends here. |
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