Recording or changing details of a child's travel to or from Australia 061-03040020

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 has a link.

If a customer changes the date that their child will be leaving Australia, this can affect entitlement to payments and/or concession cards - in some cases a child needs to have returned to Australia for more than 6 weeks before payment for the child can be made overseas again (or paid at a higher rate in the case of Family Tax Benefit (FTB)).

If a customer changes the date that their child/ren are returning to Australia, the Service Officer must check whether payment can continue for the additional time and if payable, whether the rate of payment will change.

The Portability Script - Departures and Returns cannot be used to change a child's date of departure or return to Australia. Coding and assessment must be done manually.

If the customer is also travelling, the Portability Script - Departures and Returns can be used to initially record the details of a customer and child's overseas travel, even if they are travelling on different dates.

The script cannot be used to record a child's travel if the customer is not also travelling.

A child's absence can affect a customer's family assistance and/or Paid Parental Leave scheme payment, or their income support payment as a principal carer. The absence can also affect a carer's entitlement to Carer Allowance and/or Carer Payment, as well as entitlement to a child's Foster Child Health Care Card or Low Income Health Care Card.

The Portability Script - Departures and Returns cannot be used at any time to assess the effect of a child's travel on the customer's payment or concession card.

To determine the impact of a child's travel on the customer's payment, refer to the procedure for the relevant payment type. These procedures are listed in the related links for Coding departures and returns for customers leaving Australia.

See also Carer Allowance (CA) and Carer Payment (CP) interaction of portability and temporary cessation of care (respite) rules.