Return to Australia procedures for service centre and Smart Centre staff for non-pension payments and cards 061-03050000

The Department of Home Affairs will generally advise Services Australia when a Centrelink customer or child leaves or returns to Australia through the Immigration Datalink. The portability of the payment is automatically assessed by the system, regardless of whether the customer notified or not. Note: Department of Home Affairs datalink activities should not be cancelled.

Services Australia uses the date of departure or arrival provided by the Immigration Datalink. If adversely affected, the customer can provide evidence of alternative dates. Services Australia should consider applying the alternative dates, if it is reasonable and results in a beneficial outcome for the customer.

In most cases, customers do not need to advise Services Australia they are leaving Australia temporarily or have returned from a temporary absence. However, there are situations when customers should advise of a departure before leaving Australia or contact when they have returned to Australia.

If the customer and/or child has an active immigration link, their return date will generally be automatically updated when they return to Australia.

For those customers or children who do not have an active immigration link, manually record the date they returned to Australia.

The Portability Script - Departures and Returns cannot process a return in all cases (for example, customer returning to Australia to live, after living in another country). If the script cannot complete the assessment or coding, it will advise this and create a review for manual follow-up of the activity where required. In these cases, manually action the return to Australia. Follow the procedures relevant to the payment type.

The following customer details must be checked at every contact and updated if required:

• address (including postal address)
• telephone contact details (including mobile phone numbers)

Note: if the customer has authenticated themselves via IVR, address details do not need to be confirmed.

If a customer has a change in circumstances on their return, for example, begins to pay rent, or resumes part time work, they must still contact Services Australia within 14 days as usual.

If a customer remains outside Australia after their payment has stopped for a portability related reason, continuation of payment on their return to Australia may be possible. Generally, payment can be automatically or manually restored if they return to Australia within 13 weeks of their payment stopping.

Note: if the customer is receiving Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) in addition to their primary payment, PES will suspend (EPF/SUS) if the primary payment suspends. PES cannot be restored if there is a gap in entitlement, the customer will need to reclaim PES. PES may need to be cancelled to allow restoration of the primary payment (if applicable). See Cancellation of Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and ABSTUDY PES.

A customer may need to attend an appointment at their local service centre on their return to Australia if they are subject to mutual obligation requirements. Customers with reporting requirements are re-profiled as a notification reporter during a period of absence from Australia. Upon return to Australia, their reporting requirements are again automatically re-profiled.

PPL/DAP stops if a customer loses residence qualification when they leave Australia.

Payment stops:

• from the date of departure if the customer is not qualified from departure, such as the holder of a visa subclass 060, 070, 449, 786 or 787, or the holder of a visa subclass 309, 785, 790 or 820 who did not go overseas for an approved reason, or
• at the end of the approved portability period if they are a holder of a visa subclass 309, 785, 790 or 820 who went overseas for an approved reason

If the PPL child is born or adopted:

• or after 1 July 2023, PPL will stop on the relevant date. If the customer returns to Australia within 2 years of their child’s birth or adoption and is residentially qualified for PPL, they may be able to access their PPL days
• on or after 1 July 2020 and before 1 July 2023, the PPL period will cancel on the relevant date. The PPL period cannot be restored on their return. If the customer returns to Australia within 2 years of their child’s birth or adoption and is residentially qualified for PPL, they may be able to access Flexible PPL days
• before 1 July 2020, PPL will cancel on the relevant date. This cannot be restored on their return.

Note: if a DAP customer loses residence qualification when they leave Australia, DAP will cancel. It cannot be restored. This is even if they did not receive the maximum DAP period for their child.

For more details, see Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Paid Parental Leave scheme customer/child going overseas

A customer receiving SpB should contact Services Australia on their return to Australia if their payment stopped while they were overseas and has not been automatically restored.

If the customer’s payment has:

• suspended because they were outside Australia and has not been automatically restored on return, restore it manually if they remain qualified. Arrears are not payable for the period between the end of the maximum portability period and their return to Australia
• cancelled, they will need to lodge a new claim. Holders of Provisional Partner Visas 309 and 820 who are required to re-claim cannot be exempt from the Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP) as a family member of an Australian Citizen or a permanent resident who has resided continuously in Australia for 2 years

Concession cards are portable for temporary absences from Australia up to 6 weeks (19 weeks for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card) from departure, subject to continued eligibility. This includes non-income tested Pensioner Concession Cards.

If a Pension Concession Card (PCC) or automatically issued Health Care Card (HCC) customer returns to Australia:

• before the end of the portability period and entitlement has continued throughout the period of absence, the original card remains current and a new card is not required
• after the portability period has ended and their associated payment is current or restored, a new card will be issued

Customers whose Low Income Health Care Card (LIC), Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC), ex Carer Allowance Health Care Card (EHC) or Foster Child Health Care Card (FST) concession card has been cancelled cannot have their card restored at all. These customers will need to reclaim.

Holders of Commonwealth Seniors Health Cards who return to Australia after their card has cancelled may be able to undertake a verbal reclaim in certain cases.

For more information, see Related links.

If a customer is not residing in Australia they are not entitled to any add-ons including concession cards if they return to Australia temporarily, unless they are paid under the Agreement with New Zealand.

If the customer is repeatedly absent from Australia for long periods with short returns to renew their portability, it may indicate that they are actually residing overseas.

For non-pension payments, the customer must remain an Australian resident to remain qualified. The Service Officer must be satisfied of this each time a customer leaves Australia, or payment should be cancelled immediately on departure. If an absence, or a period of multiple absences with short returns to Australia between the absences, exceeds approximately 3 years, continuing Australian residence is questionable.

If a customer whose payment has been suspended or cancelled returns to Australia after multiple absences, ensure they are still a resident of Australia before their payment is restored or re-granted. If payment is restored or re-granted, any future absences should be checked very carefully before making the portability decision to ensure that they customer is still an Australian resident.

Most customers do not have to remain in Australia for any minimum period before payment is portable again and, if the customer is paid a proportional rate, their rate will increase from the date of their return to Australia. However, some payments are affected by return rules and other payments may be affected by former resident rules.

Customers who cease to be Australian residents and lose entitlement to Centrelink administered payments will need to return to reside in Australia before they can lodge a proper claim for payment. They will need to be assessed as an Australian resident to qualify for payment.

Returning to Australia may affect subsequent portability if the customer is receiving one of these payments:

• Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• Dad and Partner Pay (DAP)
• Family Tax Benefit (FTB)
• Newborn Supplement (NBS)
• Paid Parental Leave (PPL)
• Single Income Family Supplement (SIFS)
• Stillborn Baby Payment (SBP)

A customer must generally remain in Australia for at least 6 weeks before these payments are portable again if:

• these payments ceased to be payable or reduced for portability reasons as they were outside Australia for more than 6 weeks, and
• they have returned to Australia and resumed payment

The exact rules vary according to which payment(s) the customer receives.

A customer who is planning on returning to Australia and going overseas again must contact Services Australia before they return to Australia. The Service Officer can then advise them what effect any return to Australia may have on their future payments if they travel outside Australia again.

The 6 week return rule on payments allowing extended portability for approved study means there is no interruption of the portability period where:

• the customer has an approved overseas study absence granted, and
• the customer returns to Australia for up to 6 weeks

There is no requirement to make a new decision.