Residence assessment for customers claiming Carer Payment (CP) 009-04030030

A customer has lodged a claim for CP. To qualify for CP as an Australian resident, the customer must:

• be an Australian resident
• generally be in Australia at the time they lodge the claim
• remain an Australian resident throughout the period of payment, and
• satisfy a 2 year (104 week) Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP) or have an exemption from the NARWP

The care receiver must also be an Australian resident to allow the claimant to qualify for CP.

Note: there are exceptions to these requirements.

The New Claim workflow will present the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME) screen for the customer, followed by the RSIMME screen for the care receiver.

Make sure the customer's and care receiver's country of birth and any travel documents are recorded.

The system will automatically link to the Department of Home Affairs database through the Immigration Datalink and update the customer's and care receiver's residence and movement information. If more information is needed, see Activating the Department of Home Affairs datalink and contingency procedures if datalink is unavailable.

Check the Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen, if necessary, to check 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 5
• not in Australia, go to Step 3

The customer can only lodge a legal claim for CP while they are outside Australia if they:

• are eligible to use an international agreement that covers CP, or
• 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 5
• No, go to Step 4

Some agreements also allow claims to be lodged under that agreement in a third country. That third country needs to be an agreement country that accepts claims for Australian pension under another agreement.

Is the customer in an agreement country that covers Carer Payment?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 9

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 6
• No, go to Step 8

Is the customer the partner of a customer claiming or receiving Disability Support Pension (DSP) under the agreement with New Zealand?

• Yes, they may be eligible for CP using this agreement. The claim must be processed by Centrelink International Services (CIS)
• Make sure the agreement country is recorded on the CRES screen
• Re-categorise the claim to a Centrelink International Services (CIS) new claim work item ZALL_CAR_CISNCL. If the claim activity is in Customer First or Customer Record, add keyword 'NZ'
• Do not refer the claim to CIS using Process Direct referral
• Make sure the claim is not on hold so it can be allocated
• Complete any supporting work items
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 7

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

Non-protected SCV holders must get 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 before 26 February 2001 are counted towards the NARWP if the customer now has a permanent visa. An exemption from the NARWP cannot apply to these customers until they get 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 payments, family assistance and concession cards (excluding 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 or Disability Support Pension (DSP) in limited circumstances using the International Agreement with New Zealand

Procedure ends here.

• Yes, they may be eligible for CP using an international agreement. Centrelink International Services (CIS) must process the claim
• Make sure the Agreement country is recorded on the CRES screen
• Re-categorise the claim to a CIS new claim work item
• Do not refer the claim to CIS using Process Direct referral
• Make sure claim is not on hold so it can be allocated
• Complete any supporting work items
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 9

• The customer cannot lodge a legal claim for CP if they:
• are not in Australia
• do not meet an exception to the lodgement inside Australia rule, and
• are not in an agreement country
• Code the correct citizenship and the correct visa subclass on the 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 they are the holder of certain temporary visas that qualify customers for some payments
• Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if the customer has any dependent children
• Help to look for work. To check a customer's entitlement, see Employment services for visa holders

Procedure ends here.

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

Has the customer been an Australian resident in Australia for at least 2 years (104 weeks)?

• Yes, they have served the NARWP, see Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 2

An automatic exemption from the NARWP applies to a customer who is an Australian citizen. Verify citizenship. 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. Make sure the details are correct on the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 3

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, the immigration datalink should automatically record it on this screen. To determine refugee visas, use:

• chapter 9 of the Guide to Social Security Law, see the References page, or
• Refugee, Humanitarian and Permanent Protection Visa sub-classes

If the customer advises they are or were a refugee and this is not evident 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. Make sure the visa details are correct on the RSLEG screen. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 4

Is the customer the holder of visa subclass 116, 836 or 852?

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

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

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 the refugee or former refugee arrived in Australia?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 8

Note: 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). 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
• After fully assessing the claim, refer case to CIS for exemption coding
• Once CIS responds, continue to assess the claim. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 7

Note: 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
• After fully assessing the claim, refer case to CIS for exemption coding
• Once CIS responds, continue to assess the claim. See Step 1 in Table 3
• No, go to Step 8

The NARWP is 2 years (104 weeks) of physical presence in Australia as an Australian resident.

Continue to assess the claim.

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 telling the customer of future entitlement.

Note: record past periods of residence on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen if:

• the system calculates that the NARWP has not yet been served, and
• the customer was an Australian resident before 1 September 1994

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

• Reject NW2 (Residence less than 104 weeks), or
• Grant with a status of assessed but will not be payable until the end of the NARWP. This may mean the customer will have an assessed claim for up to 13 weeks

If the claim grants with a start date more than 13 weeks in the future, manually reject with 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 9.

Has the customer lived or worked in an agreement country that covers Carer Payment?

• Yes, make sure the agreement country is recorded on the CRES screen
• Re-categorise the claim to a CIS new claim work item
• Do not refer the claim to CIS using Process Direct referral
• Make sure the claim is not on hold so it can be allocated
• Complete any supporting work items
• Procedure ends here
• No, finalise the claim, go to Step 10

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

• If the customer is currently an Australian resident, they may qualify for Carer Allowance (CA) as this payment has a 52 week NARWP
• If the customer has dependent children, they may be entitled to Family Tax Benefit Part B (not subject to NARWP) or Low Income Health Care Card (LIC). See Payments and concession cards available to customers serving the Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP)
• If the customer who is not a resident of Australia (for example, temporary student visa holder) has dependent children, they may be entitled to Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• Depending on the type of visa held and their circumstances, the customer may also have entitlement to some help looking for work. See Employment services for visa holders
• The customer may be entitled to Special Benefit (SpB) if since arrival in Australia:
• they are in hardship, and
• have suffered an unexpected and significant change in circumstances

SpB may also be payable to a person with certain temporary visas even though they are not an Australian resident

On the care receiver's record, check the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME), Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) and Country of Residence (CRES) screens are correct.

Make sure the customer's country of birth and any travel documents are on the RSIMME screen. The system should have automatically linked to the Immigration Datalink and updated the care receiver's residence and movement information. If more information is needed, 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 is residentially qualified for CP. 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

If the care receiver is not an Australian resident, the carer may still qualify for CP either autonomously or under an international agreement if the care receiver is:

• a higher Adult Disability Assessment Tool (ADAT) score adult, and
• in receipt of a social security pension, and
• a person for whom CP could be granted under an international social security agreement

Does the care receiver meet these criteria?

• Yes, see Eligibility for Carer Payment (CP) when a care receiver is aged 16 years or over. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

The carer is not qualified for CP, but may still be entitled to the following. Offer the customer, where appropriate:

• Family Tax Benefit Part B (as it is not subject to a NARWP) or a Low Income Health Care Card (LIC)
• Some help looking for work. See Employment services for visa holders
• Payments using an international agreement, including Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP), CP or Parenting Payment Single (PPS) for de jure widows:
• Make sure a record of the agreement country is on the CRES screen
• Re-categorise the claim to a CIS new claim work item
• Do not refer the claim to CIS using Process Direct referral
• Make sure the claim is not on hold so it can be allocated
• Complete any supporting work items
• Special Benefit (SpB) as the holder of an SpB qualifying visa if, since being in Australia, they:
• are in hardship, and
• have suffered an unexpected and significant change in circumstances
  SpB may also be payable to a person with certain temporary visas that qualify them for some payments, even though they are not an Australian resident