Changing the reason for leaving Australia or the length of an approved absence 061-03040030

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 receiving a restricted portability payment has an approved reason for the absence and actually leaves more than 3 days before or after they initially advised, the approved absence will not apply to the new departure date and payment will cease on departure except for Disability Support Pension (DSP) customers whose payment will cease at the end of their 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period. The Service Officer must therefore determine whether the approved reason still applies and record the new departure date and reason again.