Residence assessment for customers claiming Carer Allowance (CA) 009-03020060

A customer has lodged a claim for CA. To qualify for CA as an Australian resident, the customer must meet all of the following requirements:

• be an Australian resident
• generally be in Australia at the time the claim is lodged
• remain an Australian resident throughout the period of payment
• be caring for a person who is also an Australian resident, and
• satisfy a 1 year (52 week) Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP) or alternatively they may have an exemption from the NARWP in certain circumstances

The NARWP was introduced for CA from 1 January 2019 and is determined by the visa subclass and grant date of the customer's first permanent residence visa.

The customer will not have a NARWP if:

• their first permanent residence visa was granted before 1 January 2019, or
• they hold or have held a visa subclass 115, 116, 117, 835, 836, 837 or 852

Otherwise, the customer is required to serve a NARWP of 1 year (52 weeks).

Note: there are exceptions to these requirements.

The New Claim workflow will present the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME) screen. Ensure the customer's country of birth and any travel documents are recorded. The system will automatically link to the Department of Home Affairs information and update the customer's residence and movement information. If more information is required, see Activating the Department of Home Affairs datalink and contingency procedures if datalink is unavailable.

Check residence details provided by Department of Home Affairs

Check the Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen, if necessary, to see if the customer was in Australia at the time the claim was lodged.

Check the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen for citizenship and/or visa details for the customer.

If the customer is:

• in Australia as:
• an Australian resident, see Step 1 in Table 2
• a non-resident, go to Step 4
• not in Australia, go to Step 2

The customer can only lodge a legal claim for CA while they are outside Australia if they meet an exception to the lodgement inside Australia rule.

Does the customer meet an exception to the lodgement inside Australia rule?

• Yes, and they are:
• an Australian resident, see Step 1 in Table 2
• not an Australian resident, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 3

Advise the customer to lodge a claim if they return to Australia in the future.

Continue to assess the claim. The claim will reject for a residence related reason.

Procedure ends here.

Only New Zealand citizens can be the holder of an SCV. The RSLEG screen will indicate whether someone is a protected (GRF or TRA) or non-protected (NOT) SCV holder.

For more information on SCVs, see Australian Residence Rules for New Zealand citizens.

Is the customer a non-protected SCV holder?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 6

Continue to assess the claim. The claim will reject for a residence related reason.

Non-protected SCV holders must obtain permanent residence status before they have entitlement to most payments and concessions.

If a non-protected SCV holder is granted:

• Australian citizenship, they will have an exemption from the NARWP from the date the Australian citizenship is granted
• a permanent residence visa, any periods of presence as an Australian resident can be counted towards the NARWP. Periods of presence as an Australian resident prior to 26 February 2001 are counted towards the 1 year if the customer now has a permanent visa. An exemption from the NARWP cannot apply to these customers until they obtain a permanent residence visa

Exception: the NARWP for Low Income Health Care Card (LIC) and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) can be served by claimants who arrive in Australia on a New Zealand passport. To qualify for an ex-Carer Allowance Health Care Card (ECH) and serve the NARWP, an SCV must be protected.

The following payments and services can be received by a non-protected SCV holder and may be offered to the customer where appropriate.

• Parental leave payment, Family assistance and concession cards (other than Ex Carer Allowance Health Care Card (EHC))
• Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if the customer has any dependent children
• Entitlement to some assistance to look for work. See Employment services for visa holders
• One off payment of either JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) for a non-protected SCV holder under the New Zealand 10 year residence exemption
• Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP) (in limited circumstances) or Carer Payment (CP) (for the partner of a DSP recipient) using the International Agreement with New Zealand

Procedure ends here.

• Code the correct citizenship and the correct visa subclass on the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen
• Code the customer's country of residence on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen
• Continue to assess the claim. The claim will reject for a residence related reason

The customer may be entitled to some of the following. Offer to the customer if appropriate:

• Special Benefit (SpB), even though they may not be an Australian resident SpB may be payable to a person with certain temporary visas that qualify customers for some payments
• Parental leave payments and family assistance or the Low Income Health Care Card (LIC). If the customer is the holder of a special visa subclass that qualifies them for Special Benefit
• Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if the customer has any dependent children
• Assistance to look for work. To check a customer's entitlement, see Employment services for visa holders
• Payments under an international agreement. Generally this only applies for Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP) in limited circumstances and Carer Payment (CP)

Procedure ends here.

Check the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen for citizenship and/or visa details for the customer.

Was the customer's first permanent residence visa granted prior to 1 January 2019?

• Yes, the customer is not required to serve the NARWP and they meet the carer residence requirements for CA. However, the care receiver must also be an Australian resident before CA is payable. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 2

As the customer's first permanent residence visa was granted on or after 1 January 2019, they need to either serve or be exempt from the 1-year (52 week) NARWP.

Check the Periods of Australian Presence (RSPAP) screen. This screen displays the periods the customer has been physically in Australia while an Australian resident.

Has the customer been in Australia as an Australian resident for at least 1 year (52 weeks)?

• Yes, they have served the NARWP. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 3

An automatic exemption from the NARWP applies to a customer who is an Australian citizen. Citizenship must be verified. To determine if the customer is an Australian citizen, see Proof of Australian citizenship.

Is the customer an Australian citizen?

• Yes, they are exempt from the NARWP. Ensure that the details are recorded correctly on the RSLEG screen. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 4

An automatic exemption from the NARWP applies to a customer who is a refugee or former refugee.

To determine if the customer is a refugee or former refugee, go to the RSLEG screen. If the customer's visa subclass (either now or previously) was a refugee visa, it should be automatically recorded on this screen from the immigration datalink. Refugee visas can be determined using:

• Chapter 9 of the Social Security Guide, see References page, or
• Refugee and special humanitarian visa sub-classes

If the customer advises they are or were a refugee and this is not evidenced on the RSLEG screen or from their passport, contact Centrelink International Services (CIS) or refer to CIS via the Immigration Match Questionnaire (IMQ).

Is the customer a refugee or former refugee?

• Yes, they are exempt from the NARWP. Ensure the visa details are recorded correctly on the RSLEG screen. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 5

Is the customer the holder of visa subclass 115, 116, 117, 835, 836, 837 or 852?

This information can generally be found in the customer's passport or on the RSLEG screen once the immigration datalink has been successful.

• Yes, they are exempt from the NARWP. Ensure that the visa details are recorded correctly on the RSLEG screen. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 6

For the purpose of the NARWP and Qualifying Residence exemptions, family members include the following:

• A partner of the person
• A dependent child of the person
• Another person who, in the opinion of the Secretary, should be treated for the purposes of this definition as a partner or dependent child of the person

Was the customer a family member of either a refugee or a former refugee at the time that the refugee or former refugee arrived in Australia?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 9

The customer must have been the family member of that person at the time the refugee first arrived in Australia. However, if the family member is now an Australian citizen, they are no longer considered to be a refugee (they are a former refugee) and the customer can be covered by this exemption provision.

Is the customer currently the family member of a refugee or former refugee?

• Yes, they are exempt from the NARWP
  Note: the customer may also be entitled to Family Tax Benefit, Parental Leave Pay (PPL) or Dad and Partner Pay (DAP)
• Once the claim is fully assessed, refer case to CIS for exemption coding
• Once response has been returned from CIS, continue to assess the claim. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 8

The customer must have been the family member of that person at the time the refugee first arrived in Australia.

Was the customer the family member of a refugee or former refugee when the refugee or former refugee died?

• Yes, they are exempt from the NARWP
  Note: the customer may also be entitled to Family Tax Benefit, PPL or DAP
• Once the claim is fully assessed, refer case to CIS for exemption coding
• Once response has been returned from CIS, continue to assess the claim. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 9

Is the customer currently receiving another social security benefit, social security pension, Farm Household Allowance (FHA), PPL or DAP?

• Yes, the customer is not required to serve the NARWP and they meet the residence requirements for CA.
• If the social security benefit, pension, FHA, PPL or DAP is suspended or cancelled, CA should also be suspended or cancelled if the customer still has not served the NARWP. CA can be reassessed at the time the payment is restored or a new claim submitted if the customer is once again eligible to claim
• See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 10

The NARWP is 1 years (52 weeks) of physical presence in Australia as an Australian resident.

The end date of the NARWP (assuming they remain in Australia) is calculated and displayed on the Periods of Australian Presence (RSPAP) screen. This can be useful when advising the customer of future entitlement.

Note: if the system calculates that the NARWP has not yet been served and the customer was an Australian resident prior to 1 September 1994, past periods of residence should be recorded on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen

If they have not yet served the NARWP, the claim will:

• reject NWA (NARWP assessment not met), or
• grant with a status of assessed but will not be payable until the end of the NARWP. This may mean that the customer will have an assessed claim for up to 13 weeks

If the claim is granting with a start date more than 13 weeks in the future, manually reject with the reason 'NRQ' on the Benefit Action (BA) screen before finalising the claim.

If the claim is incorrectly granting when the customer has not served or is not exempt from the NARWP, check the Family Member/Refugee Code on the Residence Savings (RSS) screen. If FMC, FME or PRE is coded, refer case to CIS for exemption coding to be ended.

Go to Step 11.

The customer may still be entitled to some of the following. Offer to the customer where appropriate.

• If one of the care receivers is a child under 16, they may be able to receive Health Care Card (HCC) only CA. If the customer is granted HCC only CA, CA will still show as current on the benefit status line, but they will not be in receipt of financial assistance
• If the customer has an FTB child in their care, they may be entitled to a Low Income Health Care Card (LIC)
• Depending on the type of visa held and their circumstances, the customer may also have entitlement to some assistance looking for work. See Employment services for visa holders
• Payments using an international agreement. Generally this only applies to Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP) in limited circumstances and, Carer Payment (CP). All claims under an international agreement are assessed by International Services (CIS). See Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements
• The customer may also be entitled to Special Benefit (SpB) if they are experiencing hardship and have suffered an unexpected and significant change in circumstances since being in Australia as the holder of a SpB qualifying visa. SpB may also be payable to a person with certain temporary visas even though not an Australian resident

Procedure ends here.

On the care receiver's record, check the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME), Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen and Country of Residence (CRES) screen have been coded correctly.

Ensure the customer's country of birth and any travel documents are recorded on the RSIMME screen. The system should have automatically linked to the Department of Home Affairs information and updated the care receiver's residence and movement information. If more information is required, see Activating the Department of Home Affairs datalink and contingency procedures if datalink is unavailable.

Is the care receiver an Australian resident?

• Yes, the customer may be qualified for CA as the care receiver is an Australian resident. Continue to assess the claim. If the claim rejects NIA (not in Australia) phone Centrelink International Services. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

The carer is not qualified for CA, but may still be entitled to the other appropriate payments and services.

Customers should use Payment and Service finder online.