About Australians Overseas 061-06000000

Travelling outside Australia affects customers differently, depending on the payment or concession type received and the duration of the absence. In most cases, if the customer is not absent for longer than 6 weeks their payment will not be affected.

Due to the complexity of portability rules, if the Portability Script - Departures and Returns is available, use the script to record the absence for customer's leaving Australia.

A customer who has income, for example earnings, must report before departing Australia to prevent any overpayments and reporting problems on their return to Australia.

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 the customer has an active Department of Home Affairs datalink, their return date will automatically record when they return to Australia. If this does not happen automatically, manually record it.

If a customer remains outside Australia after their payment has ceased to be portable, their payment can generally be restored automatically or manually if they return to Australia within 13 weeks of their payment ceasing.

Social security agreements modify domestic social security legislation to assist people to receive social security entitlements when they travel or migrate between agreement countries. Australia has a number of international social security agreements.

All agreements cover Age Pension. Some agreements also cover pensions such as Disability Support Pension (DSP), Carer Payment (CP) (adult), Double Orphan Pension (DOP) and Parenting Payment (PP) (single).

If the customer is autonomous and payable for more than 26 weeks outside Australia, payment will become proportional after 26 weeks absence from Australia.

A proportional rate can be paid to a customer receiving payment under the terms of the particular international social security agreement.

The proportional rate is based on how long the person has lived in Australia during their working life. Working Life Residence (WLR) is generally the total of all periods in which the person has been an Australian resident between age 16 and Age Pension age. The maximum proportional rate is usually based on a period of 35 years (420 months). For example, a person who has 10 years WLR would usually get a proportional rate of 10/35 of the maximum rate. Agreements may modify the type of WLR that can be used and the proportion used in the rate calculation. Different rules apply under the Agreement with New Zealand.

Add-on payments such as Rent Assistance or the Pension Supplement may be paid subject to the specific portability rules for each of those payments or the terms of an agreement.

Customers receiving a social security pension (other than Parenting Payment Single) who leave Australia and will remain payable for more than 26 weeks or who are paid under an international agreement, are paid by Centrelink International Services (CIS). If a customer intends to be outside Australia for less than 12 months, payment will generally continue to be made into their normal Australian bank account every 2 weeks.

Family assistance and parental leave payments can only be paid into an Australian bank account every 2 weeks.

Social security law requires a person who is in receipt of a designated Australian payment to claim any comparable foreign payment (CFP) to which they may be entitled. The agency is responsible for assisting customers with the process for making a claim, as well as any non-customers who voluntarily seek assistance from staff. The agency also assists customers to maintain their foreign pension, for example, assisting with life certificates.

It is important any foreign payment is correctly identified, as foreign pensions may be assessed differently under social security law; they may be directly deducted, proportionalised or exempt from the income test.

Customers receiving foreign pensions or who have other income and assets from overseas will have the Australian dollar amount of the overseas income revalued using foreign currency exchange rates.

Foreign income and assets from a country other than Australia must be recorded in the original currency.

Foreign income or assets are converted to Australian dollars before the income and assets test is applied. The exchange rate used by the agency is updated on a monthly basis. A customer can ask for a review if the exchange rate used by the agency is different to the actual rate received by the customer (conditions apply).